With a market cap of $18.7 billion, Erie Indemnity Company (ERIE) operates as a managing attorney-in-fact for subscribers at the Erie Insurance Exchange, providing a range of services including policy issuance, underwriting, customer support, and IT services. Additionally, the company manages the property/casualty insurance business through its subsidiaries, including Erie Insurance Company and Flagship City Insurance Company.
ERIE is expected to release its fiscal Q4 earnings results on Monday, Feb. 24. Ahead of this event, analysts expect the insurance company to report a profit of $2.82 per share, up 33% from $2.12 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion. ERIE exceeded the consensus EPS estimate by 2.3% in the most recent quarter.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect ERIE to report EPS of $11.39, up 33.5% from $8.53 in fiscal 2023.
ERIE has risen 12.1% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) nearly 25% return and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLF) 33.5% increase over the same period.
Despite reporting better-than-expected Q3 adjusted earnings of $3.06 per share and total revenues of $1 billion, Erie Indemnity's shares dropped 7.5% the following day due to investor concerns about rising costs and expenses. The 15.4% year-over-year increase in total operating expenses to $819.8 million, including a 17.1% rise in policy issuance and renewal service costs to $613 million. Additionally, management fee revenue fell slightly short of expectations, with administrative services underperforming the consensus estimate.
Overall, analysts' consensus view on Erie Indemnity stock is cautiously optimistic, with a "Moderate Buy" rating. Out of two analysts covering the stock, opinions include one "Strong Buy" and one "Hold." As of writing, ERIE is trading well above the average analyst price target of $73.
