ORH - Odyssey Re Holdings Corp - beat the Street’s estimate for four straight quarters by an average of 36.6%

Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. (ORH) exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations for four straight quarters by an average margin of 36.6%. The Board of Directors recently increased the company’s quarterly cash dividend by 100% to 6.25 cents per common share. This Zacks #1 Rank stock has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.3, compared to 4.2 for the market. Full Analysis Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. is a leading worldwide underwriter of property and casualty treaty and facultative reinsurance, as well as specialty insurance. The company underwrites through offices in the United States, London, Paris, Singapore, Toronto and Latin America. The past year has been a solid one for ORH when it comes to exceeding analysts’ earnings expectations. The company beat the Street’s estimate for four straight quarters by an average margin of 36.6%. In three out of the four quarters ORH surprised by a double-digit percentage. On Feb 22, ORH posted fourth-quarter profits of 91 cents per share. With analysts expecting 78 cents, the company beat estimates by 16.7%. ORH reported a loss of $1.06 per share in the prior-year period. Total revenues rose to $654.6 million from $599.9 million in the fourth quarter of last year. For the entire year, profits came in at $499.6 million, or $6.93 per share, compared with a prior-year loss of $117.7 million, or $1.81 per share. Total revenues jumped 13.3% to $2.9 billion from $2.56 billion in 2005. The company’s combined ratio for the year, a measure of profitability for insurance companies, was 94.4% compared to 117.6% for 2005. It was ORH’s best underwriting performance since it became a public company. A ratio less than 100% indicates that the company is turning an underwriting profit, while a ratio greater than 100% indicates one that is paying out more money in claims versus receiving via premiums. President and CEO Andrew A. Barnard stated, “OdysseyRe attained numerous milestones in 2006. Our full year net income of $500 million is our highest ever, as is our return on common equity of 28.3%. Looking forward, our diversified portfolio and global reach, coupled with our proven underwriting and investment expertise, position us well for the challenges of an uncertain market.” The consensus earnings estimate for this year currently resides at $3.25. This equates to a 12-cent increase over the past two months. On Feb 22, the Board of Directors boosted its quarterly cash dividend by 100% to 6.25 cents per common share from 3.125 cents. The dividend is payable on Mar 30 to shareholders of record as of Mar 16. ORH has a current dividend yield of 0.64%. ORH is currently trading at a valuation of 12.1x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 11.7x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 15.5x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 14.2x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.3, compared to 4.2 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