Dj Officer Schmitt Sells 88 Of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Inc >Skwd

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at American Financial Group and its peers.

Property & Casualty (P&C) insurers protect individuals and businesses against financial loss from damage to property or from legal liability. This is a cyclical industry, and the sector benefits when there is 'hard market', characterized by strong premium rate increases that outpace loss and cost inflation, resulting in robust underwriting margins. The opposite is true in a 'soft market'. Interest rates also matter, as they determine the yields earned on fixed-income portfolios. On the other hand, P&C insurers face a major secular headwind from the increasing frequency and severity of catastrophe losses due to climate change. Furthermore, the liability side of the business is pressured by 'social inflation'—the trend of rising litigation costs and larger jury awards.

The 33 property & casualty insurance stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 15.1%.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

American Financial Group

With roots dating back to 1872 and a business model that empowers local decision-making, American Financial Group is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance products for businesses through its Great American Insurance Group.

American Financial Group reported revenues of $2.20 billion, down 1.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ book value per share estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 2.4% since reporting and currently trades at $134.60.

Is now the time to buy American Financial Group? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Root

Pioneering a data-driven approach that rewards good driving habits, Root is a technology-driven auto insurance company that uses mobile apps to acquire customers and data science to price policies based on individual driving behavior.

Root reported revenues of $387.8 million, up 26.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.5%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ net premiums earned estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 10.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $80.45.

Is now the time to buy Root? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: Selective Insurance Group

Founded in 1926 during the early days of automobile insurance, Selective Insurance Group is a property and casualty insurance company that sells commercial, personal, and excess and surplus lines insurance products through independent agents.

Selective Insurance Group reported revenues of $1.36 billion, up 9.3% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 364%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ book value per share estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 5.5% since the results and currently trades at $76.71.

Read our full analysis of Selective Insurance Group’s results here.

Erie Indemnity

Operating under a unique business model dating back to 1925, Erie Indemnity serves as the attorney-in-fact for Erie Insurance Exchange, managing policy issuance, claims handling, and investment services for this reciprocal insurer.

Erie Indemnity reported revenues of $1.07 billion, up 6.7% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. Overall, it was a slower quarter as it also recorded a miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is down 9.3% since reporting and currently trades at $280.97.

Read our full, actionable report on Erie Indemnity here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Skyward Specialty Insurance

Founded in 2006 to serve markets where standard insurance coverage falls short, Skyward Specialty Insurance provides customized commercial property, casualty, and health insurance solutions for underserved or specialized market niches.

Skyward Specialty Insurance reported revenues of $382.5 million, up 27.1% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 14.3%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ net premiums earned estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $46.74.

Read our full, actionable report on Skyward Specialty Insurance here, it’s free for active Edge members.

What Happened?

Shares of specialty insurance provider Skyward Specialty Insurance jumped 4.7% in the afternoon session after the company received the necessary regulatory approvals for its acquisition of Apollo Group Holdings Limited and announced strong financial guidance for 2026. The transaction was expected to close early in the first quarter of 2026. Looking ahead, Skyward Specialty projected its gross written premiums for the 2026 fiscal year to be between $2.65 billion and $2.8 billion. The company also forecast net income to range from $207 million to $216 million. In response to these developments, a Citizens JMP analyst maintained a Buy rating on the stock and increased the price target to $80 from $75 per share, signaling confidence in the company's direction.

The shares closed the day at $47.07, up 4.2% from previous close.

Is now the time to buy Skyward Specialty Insurance? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Skyward Specialty Insurance’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 5.7% on the news that the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Lloyd’s specialist, Apollo Group Holdings Limited, for a total consideration of $555 million. The deal, consisting of $371 million in cash and $184 million in stock, is expected to significantly benefit Skyward's financial performance. The company projects the acquisition will deliver double-digit adjusted operating earnings per share (EPS) accretion in the first full year after closing and add over $1.5 billion in managed premium. Strategically, the move provides Skyward with a strong source of inorganic growth and diversification into the Lloyd's market, opening up new specialty business areas. Following the news, JMP Securities reiterated its 'Market Outperform' rating and raised its price target on the stock from $65 to $70, signaling confidence in the company's prospects.

Skyward Specialty Insurance is down 3.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $47.17 per share, it is trading 27.4% below its 52-week high of $65 from June 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Skyward Specialty Insurance’s shares at the IPO in January 2023 would now be looking at an investment worth $2,470.