B.Riley FBR analyst Randy Binner reiterated a Hold rating on American Equity Investment Life (AEL) today and set a price target of $33. The company’s shares opened today at $33.79.
Binner commented:
“Life (AEL) reported 3Q18 operating EPS of $1.87, which included $0.88 of benefit from annual assumption reviews. We estimate core EPS of ~$0.86 after also adjusting for the benefits of the annual actuarial review, one-time bond pre-payment fees and over hedging. The reported gross spread was 267 bps compared to our 254 bps forecast, but the adjusted gross spread was 249 bps. Gross sales of $1.0B were in line with our estimate. Overall, we view the 3Q18 result as favorable given the large actuarial release and in-line operating results. We reiterate our Neutral rating given valuation on both earnings (P/E of 8.1x on 2020E (1.2x BV ex-AOCI), which is a premium valuation compared to several larger-cap, more diversified peers. The earnings call is scheduled for 10:00am EST.”
According to TipRanks.com, Binner is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 13.5% and a 66.5% success rate. Binner covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as Health Insurance Innovations, Brighthouse Financial Inc, and Prudential Financial Inc.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating for American Equity Investment Life with a $38.40 average price target.
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The company has a one-year high of $38.57 and a one-year low of $27.06. Currently, American Equity Investment Life has an average volume of 395.6K.
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American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. engages in the development and sale of annuity and life insurance products through its subsidiaries. It focuses on issuing fixed index and fixed rate annuities. The company was founded by David J. Noble on December 15, 1995 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, IA.
