Billionaires Are Betting on These Five Insurers

Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) is one of the stocks billionaire Andreas Halvorsen was very bullish on at the end of the first quarter. His fund reported a new position that amounted to 1.6 million shares worth $56.3 million at the end of March. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital is also betting big on the stock, as it held 4.43 million shares valued at $155 million. In general, the popularity of Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) among top hedge funds has increased significantly during the quarter, with the number of long positions rising to 30 from 23 registered at the end of 2015. The company has a market cap of $18.7 billion and pays an annual dividend of $0.89 per share, which represents a yield of 2.80%. Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) is currently trading at a trailing Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 15, lower than the industry average of P/E of 19. Shares have ended yesterday’s trading session at $32.09 apiece, up by 2% for the year.

Fidelity National Financial Still Attractive Despited Mixed First Quarter

At the end of the first quarter, roughly 14% of FNF Group of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) common stock was held by 44 of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, up from 40 three months earlier. Harris Associates, owned by Natixis Global Asset Management, established a huge new position in FNF Group of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), amassing more than 16 million shares worth $543 million, according to its latest 13F filing. The company posted mixed results for the first quarter, but that did not hurt the stock’s performance. FNF Group of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) posted revenues of $1.72 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.33 per share, while analysts had predicted $0.36 per share on the back of $1.69 billion in revenues. During the second quarter, Fidelity National’s stock gained more than 9%.

Interest In Chubb Is Falling

Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB) is another insurance company that elite hedge fund shied away from during the first three months of 2016. According to our data, the number of long positions dropped to 40 at the end of March, from 50 registered a quarter before. Together, these funds held just 2.6% of the company’s common stock. There were, however, a number of funds that actually decided to buy the stock during the quarter. Dan Loeb‘s Third Point reported a fresh position in its latest 13F filing, that amounted to 2.4 million shares worth $286 million. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies also bought 1.35 million shares of Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB), a position valued at $160 million. Analysts recommend the stock mainly as a ‘Buy’ and the consensus price target is $128 per share, which represents an upside potential of just 2.8%. The stock is trading at a trailing P/E of 17, while analysts believe the multiple will drop to approximately 12 by the end of the fiscal year 2017, which means they expect a solid increase in Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB)’s earnings.

Disclosure: none.