Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Cairnstone Financial Buyout

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) recently acquired Cairnstone Financial, LLC. The terms of the transaction have not been revealed.

Founded in 2010, Zionsville, IN-based Cairnstone Financial is a benefits consultant offering group health, life, wellness, retirement, disability and dental coverages and services. The company serves its middle-market customers across the Midwestern United States.

Cairnstone Financial has been focusing on growing its business while finding innovative ways to help clients control healthcare costs. The addition of Cairnstone Financial will boost the acquirer’s product offerings.

Arthur J. Gallagher is one of the top five global brokers. In the first quarter of 2019, the company completed 11 brokerage acquisitions, which should add about $70 million of annualized revenues. The recent acquisition is the eighth in the second quarter. Given its solid capital position, the company is well poised to pursue more strategic buyouts.

Arthur J. Gallagher boasts impressive growth, driven by organic sales and acquisition and mergers. These efforts, in turn, have been driving its revenues. The top line of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurance broker more than doubled in the last six years.

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher have gained 7.9% quarter to date, outperforming the industry’s rise of 3.9%. The company’s policy to ramp up its growth profile and capital position should continue to drive share price higher.

There have been a host of acquisitions in the insurance space of late given the significant capital available. Brown & Brown of Kentucky, Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) , acquired United Development Systems, Inc. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) acquired Navigators Group, Inc.

A Stock to Consider

A better-ranked broker insurer is eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

eHealth provides private health insurance exchange services to individuals, families, and small businesses in the United States and China. The company delivered positive earnings surprise of 512.20% in the last reported quarter.

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