(PRE) - PartnerRe, Ltd. - company topped the Street's estimate in 10 out of the past 11 quarters by an average margin of 20.4%

PartnerRe, Ltd. (PRE), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, topped analysts' earnings expectations in 10 out of the past 11 quarters, most recently by 69.9%. The consensus estimate for 2006 has increased 4.7% over the past 30 days. The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 40 cents per common share of stock on Oct 23. The company has a price-to-book ratio of 1.2, compared to 5.4 for the market. Full Analysis PartnerRe, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and risk management solutions worldwide. Risks reinsured include property and casualty/motor, catastrophe, life, alternative risk transfer and specialty lines: agriculture, aviation & space, credit & surety, energy on-shore, engineering, marine and energy off-shore, specialty casualty and specialty property. PRE's history of exceeding analysts' earnings expectations should catch the attention of investors. The company topped the Street's estimate in 10 out of the past 11 quarters by an average margin of 20.4%. Over the past 16 quarters, PRE surprised to the upside on 13 occasions, matched estimates once and missed twice. Earnings per share grew 39.8% over the past five years. On Oct 23, PRE reported third-quarter earnings per share of $3.55. The result absolutely crushed the consensus estimate of $2.09 by 69.9%. The company lost $6.36 per share in the third quarter of 2005. Net written premiums experienced a 4.8% jump to $807.8 million when compared to the prior-year period. Total revenues increased 4.7% to $1.12 billion. For the first nine months of the year, net premiums written nudged up slightly to $2.97 billion from $2.95 billion for the first nine months of 2005. Total revenues slipped 3.0% to $3.04 billion while profits came in at $506.6 million, compared to a loss of $17.4 million for the same period last year. President and CEO Patrick Thiele stated, “PartnerRe's performance over the first nine months of 2006, together with our cumulative performance since 2001, provides clear evidence of the strength of our strategy and indeed the PartnerRe franchise.” The consensus estimate for 2006 currently sits at $8.48. When compared to the consensus of 30 days earlier, it jumped 4.7%, and represents upward revisions by five analysts. Profit forecasts for next year are up five cents to $8.20 over the same period of time. Two analysts revised their estimates upward. The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 40 cents per common share of stock on Oct 23. The dividend will be paid on Dec 1 to shareholders of record as of Nov 21. The company has a current dividend yield of 2.4%. PRE is currently trading at a valuation of 10.5x trailing 12-month earnings and at 8.0x current fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 17.4x trailing 12-month earnings and at 16.4x its current fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of 1.2, compared to 5.4 for the market. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home