Investopedia: Can Torchmark Be What It Used To Be?

Investors have definitely warmed up to insurance companies in recent months, as a quick look at the charts of property and casualty insurers like Allstate (NYSE:ALL) and Progressive (NYSE:PGR) will show. The same is true for the life insurers, as stocks like Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) and MetLife (NYSE:MET) (even with the disappointment tied to the Fed's stress test) have done reasonably well.

Where does that leave Torchmark (NYSE:TMK)? Torchmark is an odd insurance company, as it offers fairly simple products and focuses in part on a competitive cost structure. While the stock is up nearly 50% over early October lows, current analyst targets seem to suggest that the future will not be nearly as strong as the past. If Torchmark can reclaim past returns on equity (ROE), though, the returns could be still be significant.

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