Seeking Alpha: AXA Needs To Unlock Growth To Achieve A Higher Share Price

French insurance giant AXA (OTCQX:AXAHY) has been doing what it said it would, but investors have been slow to reward the company for its progress. The shares are down about 3% from my last update, which is better than the performance of peers like Generali (OTC:ARZGF), Aviva (NYSE:AV), and Zurich (OTCQX:ZURVY), and a little worse than Allianz (OTCQX:AZSEY), but investors shouldn't shoot for "no worse than the others" with their investments.

Management has done a good job of reducing expenses and boosting cash flow, and the company's relatively solid Solvency II score is encouraging for further capital distributions to shareholders. On the other hand, high-growth markets like Turkey haven't delivered the hoped-for growth, P&C premium growth has proven challenging, and inflows to both the life and asset management businesses aren't as strong as they need to be.

A key consideration, then, is whether AXA can take the steps necessary to accelerate bottom line growth from the 2% to 3% rate seen in 2015. Today's price is fair if the 10-year adjusted earnings growth averages around 3%. A growth rate of 4% bumps the fair value to $26.50 and a little over 5% a year in adjusted earnings growth supports a target close to $29.50. I believe 5% is attainable, but far from certain, so this isn't a money-for-nothing sort of investment prospect.

Follow the link to continue:
AXA Needs To Unlock Growth To Achieve A Higher Share Price

Seeking Alpha: Allianz Less Robust On Growth, But Loaded On Quality

A year ago, I thought the shares of German insurance giant Allianz (OTCQX:AZSEY) (ALV.XE) were about 10% undervalued. The local shares have risen about 13% since that piece, but the stronger dollar has pushed that local return to a nearly 10% loss for the ADRs, and AXA (OTCQX:AXAHY), Aviva (NYSE:AV), and MetLife (NYSE:MET) have all done better for U.S. investors.

Absent a possible reversal in exchange rates, I'm not as bullish on Allianz at this point. Persistent low interest rates have hurt the profitability of the life insurance business and the P&C business may be challenged by the question of how to surpass already excellent results. I still like this company, and I've actually increased my fair value estimate on a constant currency basis, but it's harder to make a call that this is a must own until/unless rates turn up.

Click here for more:
Allianz Less Robust On Growth, But Loaded On Quality

Seeking Alpha: AXA On The Right Track

When can a call be both right and wrong? When a significant move in foreign currency saps the strong performance of a company's shares on its home exchange and the ADR goes more or less nowhere. That is what has happened with AXA (OTCQX:AXAHY), as the shares of this global insurance giant have done quite well on the local market (up more than 25% since my last article) and better than peers/rivals like Allianz (OTCQX:AZSEY), Generali (OTCPK:ARZGY), Prudential Plc (NYSE:PUK), and Aviva (NYSE:AV), but the ADRs are basically flat after the significant move in the U.S. dollar-Euro exchange rate.

AXA is executing to plan and there is a lot to like about the company's operations. The company is successfully replacing risky (for them), capital-intensive products with profitable, less capital-intensive products and the company's P&C operations are doing well. The company's significant exposure to Asia is also helping, as these operations are contributing significant growth.

At current exchanges rates these shares look like an okay holding. The ADRs do look undervalued and the company pays a good dividend that is likely to increase in the coming years. If the dollar were to weaken, investors could recapture some of that "lost" performance but that is an inherently unpredictable call.

Follow this link for more:
AXA On The Right Track

Seeking Alpha: Defensive Allianz Not Feeling The Love

Germany-based multinational insurance giant Allianz (OTCQX:AZSEY) has amply demonstrated that it is a well-run insurer with strong underwriting policies and capital allocation discipline. Unfortunately, it's a lot of what investors don't seem to want these days - it's focused on slower-growing Western European markets when investors want to tap the growth in Latin America and Asia, it's defensive when investors want offense, and it hasn't been particularly aggressive in keeping up with AXA (OTCQX:AXAHY) or Aegon (AEG) in terms of new product development. Although I do like AXA more, I think the market is underestimating the value of this lagging giant today.

Follow this link for more:
Defensive Allianz Not Feeling The Love

Seeking Alpha: AXA's Progress Not Fully Reflected In The Shares

French multinational, multiline insurance company AXA SA (OTCQX:AXAHY) was badly dented during the credit crisis, particularly as the cost of hedging its large variable annuity exposure got so expensive. Not unlike MetLife (MET), AXA has pursued a plan designed to increase the cash flow generated per dollar of revenue and underlying profit while shifting business toward more protection-oriented and less capital-intensive products. While AXA still has a lot of leverage, the shares appear undervalued on a long-term basis.

Read the full article here:
AXA's Progress Not Fully Reflected In The Shares