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Making its debut on 11/08/2005, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE) provides investors broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
KIE is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $890.09 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Insurance Select Industry Index.
The S&P Insurance Select Industry Index represents the insurance segment of the S&P Total Market Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.34%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
KIE's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Erie Indemnity Company Cl A (ERIE) accounts for about 2.46% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc (RYAN) and Kinsale Capital Group Inc (KNSL).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.7% of KIE's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, KIE has added roughly 24.48%, and was up about 31.63% in the last one year (as of 09/16/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $41.63 and $56.48.
The ETF has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 18.17% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Insurance ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP) tracks KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has $333.52 million in assets, iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has $709.73 million. KBWP has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAK charges 0.39%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO have rallied 43.7% year to date (YTD), outperforming the industry’s 33% growth. The insurer also outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Finance sector’s return of 16.3% and 12%, respectively, in the same time frame. With a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 1.14 million. Currently priced at $102.17, the stock is a little below its 52-week high of $106.02.
BRO Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P YTD
The expected long-term earnings growth is 11.7%. Earnings have grown 18.4% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 13.2%. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) insurance broker's bottom line outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.82%.
BRO Trading Above 50-Day Moving Average
The stock is trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $99.05 and $86.24, respectively, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.
BRO’s Growth Projection Encourages
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brown & Brown’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 30.9%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.70 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 10.3%. The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 8.6% and 8.1%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates.
Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on BRO
Each of the six analysts covering the stock has raised estimates for 2024 and 2025 over the past 60 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 moved 1.9% and 2.5% north, respectively, in the last 60 days.
Can the Stock Retain the Momentum?
Commissions and fees, the main component of the top line, benefit from increasing new business, strong retention and continued rate increases for most lines of coverage. The top line witnessed a five-year annual growth rate of 14%. The company met its intermediate annual revenue goal of $4 billion, doubling in the last five years.
The insurance broker continually makes investments in boosting organic growth and margin expansion. It boasts an industry-leading adjusted EBITDAC margin.
Brown & Brown’s strategic buyouts help it capitalize on growing market opportunities, strengthen its compelling products and service portfolio, expand global reach and accelerate its growth rate. For the second quarter of 2024, the insurance broker completed 10 acquisitions with estimated annual revenues of $13 million and continued to build relationships with many other companies. From 1993 through the second quarter of 2024, the insurance broker acquired 660 insurance intermediary operations.
Banking on operational expertise, BRO boasts a strong liquidity position with an improving leverage ratio. The strength of its operating model and diversity of businesses ensures strong cash conversion. The company effectively deploys cash into acquisitions, capital expenditure and wealth distribution for shareholders via dividend increases.
BRO has an impressive dividend history, raising dividends for 30 straight years. Its five-year annualized dividend growth is 10.89%, and its dividend yield is 0.5%.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks from the insurance brokerage industry are Arthur J. Gallagher AJG, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MMC and Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. RYAN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Arthur J. Gallagher has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 1.93%. Shares of AJG have rallied 31.9% YTD.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AJG’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 15.9% and 12%, respectively.
Marsh & McLennan has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 5.80%. Shares of MMC have jumped 21.4% YTD.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMC’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 9.3% and 7.9%, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ryan Specialty’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 31.1% and 21.9%, respectively. Shares of RYAN have rallied 47.7% YTD.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RYAN’s 2024 and 2025 earnings has moved 2.2% and 3.2% north, respectively, in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ optimism.
Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher AJG have rallied 31.1% year to date (YTD) compared with the industry’s growth of 27.3%. The Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite have returned 12% and 15%, respectively, in the same time frame. With a market capitalization of $64.55 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.7 million.
AJG Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P YTD
The rally was driven by a strong performance of the Brokerage and Risk Management segments, strategic buyouts to capitalize on growing market opportunities and effective capital deployment.
AJG’s Growth Projection Encourages
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 15.9%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $11.36 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 14.4%. The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 12% and 9.9%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates. Earnings have grown 20.7% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 13.2%.
Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on AJG
Six of the eight analysts covering the stock have raised estimates for 2024 and 2025 over the past 60 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 moved 0.5% and 0.6% north in the last 60 days.
Impressive Earnings Surprise History of AJG
Arthur J. Gallagher’s bottom line outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 1.93%.
Will AJG’s Rally Stay?
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) insurance broker closed at $294.65 on Wednesday, above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $281.41 and $252.66, respectively, signaling strong upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.
Arthur J. Gallagher has geographically diversified operations with strong domestic as well as international presence. This ensures uninterrupted revenue generation. Its international operations contribute about one-third of revenues. Given the number and size of its non-U.S. acquisitions, AJG expects international contribution to total revenues to trend up.
AJG has an impressive organic growth track. A strong pipeline with about $550 million of revenues, associated with almost 60 term sheets, either agreed upon or being prepared, is well supported by AJG’s M&A capacity of $3.5 billion in 2024 and $4.5 billion in 2025 without using any equity.
Arthur J. Gallagher targets organic (particularly international) and inorganic growth and is thus tapping into growth opportunities across the globe. This, coupled with solid retention and improving renewal premium across all major geographies and most product lines, bodes well for growth. This insurance broker thus expects 2024 organic revenues and adjusted EBITDAC margins of the Risk Management and Brokerage segments to be better than the 2023 levels.
In the Brokerage segment, AJG expects organic growth to be 7-9% in 2024. In the Risk Management segment, the company expects organic growth to be 9% and margins around 20.5% in 2024.
AJG’s Wealth Distribution
AJG’s wealth distribution to shareholders in the form of dividend hikes and share repurchases is backed by its solid capital position. Its dividend has increased at a three-year CAGR of 7.7% and currently yields 0.8%. The board of directors also approved a $1.5 billion share buyback program.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks from the insurance brokerage industry are Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MMC and Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. RYAN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Brown & Brown has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 9.82 %. Year to date, shares of BRO have rallied 41.6%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRO’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 30.9% and 8.6%, respectively.
Marsh & McLennan has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 5.80%. Year to date, shares of MMC have jumped 20.9%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMC’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 9.3% and 7.9%, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ryan Specialty’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 31.1% and 21.9%, respectively. Year to date, shares of RYAN have rallied 45.6%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RYAN’s 2024 and 2025 earnings has moved 2.2% and 3.2% north, respectively, in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ optimism.
Zacks Investment Research
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