Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Meadowbrook Insurance Group (NYSE: MIG) have dropped by 10% following a rather disappointing earnings report.
So what: Meadowbrook's second-quarter results showed a loss of $0.19 per share thanks to the impact of above-average storm losses (2.7%) and an adverse insurance arbitration award (3.7%) on the insurer's combined ratio, which rose to 111.5% for the quarter on an adjusted basis. Also affecting the loss, which was much worse than Wall Street's expectations of $0.14 in profit per share, was the adverse reserve impact of discontinued business (9.8%).
Meadowbrook now expects gross premiums for the second half of 2013 to be between $470 million to $490 million, with adjusted operating income projected in the $0.45 per share to $0.50 per share range. Based on the company's first-half adjusted net loss of $0.01 per share, it should come as little surprise that investors are fleeing today -- projected full-year earnings will max out at $0.49 per share, well below the $0.57 consensus for the full fiscal year.
Now what: Meadowbrook has now returned to an 8% gain for the past 52 weeks, which is passable, but hardly exceptional. There are plenty of other insurers out there, and many of them boast superior yields that are matched with better valuations. After today's weakness, you might want to consider investigating them instead.
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