Torchmark (TMK) Q2 Earnings: Disappointment In The Cards?

Torchmark Corporation (NYSE:TMK) is slated to report second-quarter 2017 results on Jul 26, after the market closes. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 0.88%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to be Considered this Quarter

Torchmark is likely to report higher administrative expenses in the soon-to-be-reported quarter, mainly driven by higher pension costs due to the required implementation of a new mortality table and further investments in IT systems. For 2017, the company anticipates administrative expenses to increase 5% and be around 6.3% of premium.

The company has also likely experienced a rise in total benefits and expenses in the second quarter.

In addition, the company is likely to witness a lower insurance underwriting income in the second quarter, owing to higher administrative expenses.

However, the life insurer is likely to report bottom-line growth in the second quarter on the back of higher premiums from the Life and Health segments. Notably, the company projects a net operating income from continuing operations per share between $4.63 and $4.77 in 2017. The $4.70 per share midpoint reflects an increase of 3 cents from the midpoint of the life insurer’s previous guidance.

Further, the company has likely displayed a higher excess investment income in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

With respect to the surprise trend, the company delivered positive surprises in the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 2.01%.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Torchmark is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: Torchmark has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $1.17. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Torchmark carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Please note that we caution against all Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked companies from the insurance industry with the right combination of elements to come up with an earnings beat this quarter are as follows:

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) , which is set to report second-quarter earnings on Jul 31, has an Earnings ESP of +4.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TO:SLF) has an Earnings ESP of +2.74% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is set to report second-quarter earnings on Aug 9.

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) has an Earnings ESP of +10.00% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report second-quarter earnings on Aug 9.

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