• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-CNP Assurances hit by SocGen cut

Wed Jun 17, 2009 3:59am EDT

Stocks

   

Shares in France's CNP Assurances (CNPP.PA) drop 3 percent, falling behind the DJ Stoxx insurance index .SXIP, which is down 0.4 percent, after Societe Generale cuts its rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy", saying the stock's "defensive status (is) fully priced in".

"Despite its pure life profile CNP's business model has been perceived as very defensive through the financial maelstrom given the shelter provided by its cautious asset/liability management approach, coupled to a low risk underwriting profile with exposure mainly to traditional savings products generating low but resilient margins throughout the cycle," SocGen analysts write in a note.

"But the benefits of its defensive business model now look fully priced in to us with the stock on circa 8.8 times 2010 earnings per share forecast versus 7.7 times for the life sector. We see no reason for the stock to continue to outperform, and are now taking a neutral stance," they write.

Reuters Messaging rm://blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net


More from Reuters

Photo

U.S. health bill nears crucial Senate test vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With 60 votes in hand, Senate Democrats cruised on Sunday toward an expected victory on the first of three crucial test votes that will put a broad healthcare overhaul on the path to passage by Christmas. | Video

» More Top News
A woman shops at a Sam's Club store, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, in Bentonville, Arkansas June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

The food-stamp economy

On the last day of every month, shoppers at Walmart load their carts with food and household items and wait for the midnight hour. Is this the new normal in America?  Full Article 

U.S.
Two men shake hands in a file photo. REUTERS/File

Let's make a deal

The battered M&A sector will make a tepid recovery in the coming year and three hot sectors will lead the way, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis.  Full Article 

Global Deals Review