Topic: How To Invest

What is your opinion of XL Capital?

Article Excerpt

XL Capital, $10.72, symbol XL on New York (Shares outstanding: 342.1 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion), sells property and casualty insurance, life insurance and reinsurance coverage worldwide. In the three months ended March 31, 2009, XL Capital’s per-share earnings fell 55.4%, to $0.53 from $1.19. Excluding one-time items, the company made $0.63 a share in the latest quarter. Results remained strong in XL’s property and casualty business, but losses on its investments were significantly higher. XL is taking a number of measures to lower its risk. These mainly centre on cutting its focus on the life-insurance market and concentrating on the more stable and profitable property and casualty market. It’s also cutting back on writing longer-term insurance coverage, in order to better align its liabilities with its shorter-term investment holdings. As well, the company is actively lowering its operating expenses and cutting its workforce. XL is also lowering the risk of its investment portfolio. The company invests policyholders’ premiums in the portfolio…