AIG’s market cap surges in Q4’20; health insurers still top rankings
All but one of the largest U.S.-listed insurers saw their market capitalizations rise in the fourth quarter of 2020 from the prior three months, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
American International Group Inc. was the biggest gainer as its market valuation jumped 37.5% to $32.62 billion. Wells Fargo analyst Elyse Greenspan, who recently downgraded the insurer to equal weight from overweight, said AIG shares have rebounded from their COVID-19 lows. Greenspan increased her price target on the stock to $42 from $40 based on higher group multiples.
Managed care insurers continued to occupy the top three spots in the rankings, with industry leader UnitedHealth Group Inc. posting a 12.3% increase in market cap to $332.73 billion. Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. were second and third with market caps of $79.86 billion and $75.21 billion, respectively.
Property and casualty insurers Chubb Ltd. and Progressive Corp. rounded out the top five with market valuations of $69.47 billion and $57.87 billion, respectively. Humana Inc.’s market cap dipped 0.8% to $54.30 billion, dropping the managed care company to the No. 6 spot.
The S&P 500 insurance index rose 17.8% during the quarter, outpacing the broader S&P 500, which rose 12.1%.
