Alleghany's (Y) Unit Buys Supermill, Strengthens Portfolio

Alleghany Corporation’s (NYSE:Y) wholly-owned subsidiary Alleghany Capital Corporation announced that its unit, Precision Cutting Technologies, Inc., has acquired Supermill LLC.

Supermill is engaged in producing the highest quality end mills for the metal working industry. It provides customers with unmatched performance and tool life.

The acquisition of Supermill shall reinforce the position of Precision Cutting Technologies across Northeastern United States and boost the acquirer’s portfolio of cutting consumables. With this buyout, Supermill is expected to derive benefits from the infrastructure and national sales reach of the acquirer’s platform.

The buyout shall enable Supermill to benefit from the broader reach and capabilities of the Precision Cutting Technologies platform, as well as Alleghany Capital's long-term capital model. This shall enhance opportunities of the Alleghany Capital group of companies.

Alleghany considers strategic acquisitions to be a prudent approach to ramp up its growth profile. Through its subsidiaries, the company pursues acquisitions, which not only widen its geographical presence but also boost its portfolio.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) property and casualty insurer have rallied 13.8% in a year’s time, outperforming the industry's 6.6% growth. We expect the aforementioned strengths to drive the stock in the near term.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the same space are First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) , Cincinnati Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CINF) and Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) . While First American Financial sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Cincinnati Financial and Axis Capital carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cincinnati Financial and First American Financial surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average positive surprise being 17.9% and 17.7%, respectively.

Axis Capital Holdings surpassed estimates in two of the last four quarters, with the average positive surprise being 53.5%.

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