Earnings Coverage - ACE Ltd

LONDON, November 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Investor-Edge.com has issued free earnings review on ACE Ltd (NYSE: ACE). On October 21, 2014, the company reported its financial results for Q3 FY14 (period ended September 30, 2014). Click on www.investor-edge.com/FreeReports to read our free earnings review on ACE Ltd. During Q3 FY14, the company's after-tax operating income saw a growth of 3.9% on a Y-o-Y basis and its operating income per diluted share increased 6% from the preceding year quarter. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:

www.investor-edge.com/register

Earnings Overview 

During Q3 FY14, ACE Ltd's after-tax operating income increased to $891 million, or $2.64 per diluted share, from $857 million, or $2.49 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. The company's net income, however, narrowed to $785 million, or $2.32 per diluted share, in Q3 FY14, from $916 million, or $2.66 per diluted share, in the same quarter last year. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected the company to report net income of $787 million, or $2.31 per diluted share, in Q3 FY14. The free research on ACE can be downloaded as in PDF format at:

www.Investor-Edge.com/ACEFreeReport

Net premiums written for Q3 FY14 were $4,729 million compared to $4,620 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The company's net investment income increased 8.5% Y-o-Y to $566 million in Q3 FY14, primarily due to growth in the company's invested assets and partnership distributions. Further, the company's property and casualty (P&C) underwriting income grew 4.9% Y-o-Y to $586 million, and its combined ratio stood at 86.3% for the quarter. The company's book value and tangible book value per share increased 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, on a sequential basis. Book value and tangible book value per share for Q3 FY14 stood at $90.38 and $74.05, respectively. Realized and unrealized losses and unfavorable foreign currency movement negatively impacted book value per share in the quarter.

The CEO commented that ACE Ltd had record earnings for the Q3 FY14 and nine months. He further said that after-tax operating income for the quarter was driven by growth in underwriting income and investment income, both of which were up for the quarter and year. Mr. Greenberg also stated that ACE Ltd's P&C underwriting income increased by 5% as a result of growth in earned premium and steady underwriting margin and the P&C combined ratio of 86.3% benefited from strong current accident year results, positive prior years' reserve development and relatively light catastrophe losses. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on ACE at:

www.Investor-Edge.com/ACE-07112014

Commenting on the company's net P&C premiums, he stated that excluding crop insurance, it grew 4% in the quarter and 7% year-to-date. Even as growth naturally slowed a bit in the quarter given a more competitive market globally, the company sees many opportunities for growth due to its broad global diversification, added the CEO. He further stated that ACE Ltd expects stronger growth in Q4 in constant dollars.

The company repurchased approximately 4.30 million shares during Q3 FY14, totaling $450 million. Since the inception of the November 2013 share repurchase authorization, the company has repurchased approximately 11.20 million shares for $1.10 billion through October 20, 2014. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on ACE at:

www.Investor-Edge.com/ACEEarningsCoverage

Stock Performance 

On the day following the earnings release, October 22, 2014, ACE Ltd's stock ended the session at $105.84, down 0.81%. The stock witnessed mostly a positive trend since then. On the last close, Thursday, November 06, 2014, it finished at $110.73, up 0.21%, hitting a new 52-week high of $110.80. A total of 0.78 million shares were traded, which was below its three months average volume of 1.33 million shares. Over the previous three trading sessions and last one month, the company's shares have advanced 1.77% and 4.27%, respectively. Also, the stock has gained 6.95% from the beginning of 2014. Shares of ACE Ltd closed above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $106.13 and $102.13, respectively. Furthermore, the stock traded at a PE ratio of 11.38 and has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 66.13.

Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading 

In the last one month there were six insider transactions by two individuals. On October 28, 2014, Timothy Boroughs, EVP and Chief Investment Officer at ACE Ltd, bought 25,000 shares of the company at a price of $56.40 per share and sold an equal number of shares at $108.64 per share on the same day. Additionally, on October 30, 2014, Paul Medini, SVP and Chief Accounting Officer at ACE Ltd, purchased a total of 7,250 shares of the company at an average price of $42.24 per share and disposed a total of 4,974 shares at an average price of $108.03 per share on the same day. Complimentary in-depth research on ACE is available at:

www.Investor-Edge.com/ACEInsiderTrading

About Investor-Edge.com 

At Investor-Edge, we provide our members with a simple and reliable way to leverage our economy of scale. Most investors do not have time to track all publicly traded companies, much less perform an in-depth review and analysis of the complexities contained in each situation. That's where Investor-Edge comes in. We provide a single unified platform for investors' to hear about what matters. Situation alerts, moving events, and upcoming opportunities.

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EDITOR'S NOTES:

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1. This is not company news. We are an independent source and our views do not reflect the companies mentioned.

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