Highway Insurance Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 29/11/2005 21:48

Lovely isn't it :o)) And on such good volumes too - any selling just being soaked up...

[rochdae] 29/11/2005 16:26

Another good day with some big trades going through.

[bigbobjoylove] 28/11/2005 12:43

some trader on a betting forum with a decent record said these are on his companys top 5 for 2006.He works for a small co broker not sure which as he does'nt declare.Likes his horses and seems to tip the right shares.Mentioned these a month ago.Also mentioned plus markets on their debut.

[rivaldo] 28/11/2005 12:26

I see the two recent forecasts from Numis and Shore have consensus 7.5p EPS and 5p divi for 2005 and 8p EPS and 5.375p divi for 2006.

I'm still looking for 85p pre-results for an almost 6% yield - how far the price goes from there depends on the results and outlook, though the potential is for greatly extended gains from here.

[rochdae] 28/11/2005 08:32

Looking quite strong for an early start.

[leadersoffice] 25/11/2005 14:59

I love it !!!!!!

[leslas] 25/11/2005 14:54

I do like the way it ticks up slowly

[bigbobjoylove] 25/11/2005 14:47

this was in the business but it aint the note.



"MOTOR insurer Highway Insurance Holdings will almost double its dividend payments this year. This is part of a new strategy by its management to grow its insurance broking activities.

Earlier this year Highway fought off a bid from rival Chaucer that valued the company at around 44p a share. Everything that has happened since then suggests that this was the right thing to do.

Although Highway's performance has been patchy it has improved significantly. Last year's pre-tax profit was £21.4m – mostly from investment income on the company's investment funds of £380m.

In the first half of 2005 profits more than doubled to £11.3m, although the second half will be tougher. Despite this, Highway is generating enough surplus cash to double its interim dividend to 1.6p a share. Its net asset value at the end of June was £88m.

The core motor business writes £250m of gross premiums per annum and has 600,000 customers. Highway has a 2.5% share of the UK motor market. Management has been cautious when writing new business and tries to make sure it makes some profit from its underwriting rather than just growing market share.

Highway plans to build up its insurance broking business. The latest move is the £6.6m acquisition of 1st Quote, which handled 60,000 policies with gross written premiums of £24.6m. Last year's pre-tax profits were £1m. Up to £6.5m more is payable and there may also be additional deferred consideration depending on performance over the coming year.

This takes Highway into the top 12 in the UK market. The business handles more than 170,000 policies. Integrating 1st Quote should make the division more efficient by reducing back office costs. Management wants this division to make £5m profit by 2008 and with the latest acquisition the annualised profit should be running at £2m. The shares have increased sharply in the past month since Highway signalled its sharp rise in dividends. Yet they are still attractive.

According to Corporate Synergy analyst Stephen Payne, Highway can pay a total dividend of 5p a share for 2005 and it will still be covered 1.5 times. That equates to a yield of 8.1%. He expects Highway to report full year profits of £23m in 2005. There is scope for further modest rises in profits and dividends next year.

It is difficult to find a reasonably covered dividend that provides such an attractive yield. There is also a possibility the premium rate cycle could firm in 2006. Anyone looking for income should consider buying these shares.

[bigbobjoylove] 25/11/2005 14:44

I'll hunt around for it.

[a2336418] 25/11/2005 12:28

if same as last year they go ex-div on 27 March so plaenty of time and scope for another substantial rerating by then?On the cost of my holding looks like I am due a 14% divi.....better than LLOY even.

[harvey_b] 25/11/2005 12:18

when is the final divi likely to be paid?

[rivaldo] 25/11/2005 12:09

MM's having to widen the spread on another new high - even an 80p share price would give a 6.25% divi yield.

BigBob, do you happen to have the broker note in electronic form? I'd be interested in a copy if so.

[karldinnel] 25/11/2005 08:55

Well, I'm even more glad I've been in since 44p then!!

[bigbobjoylove] 25/11/2005 07:33

the latest broker note was very interesting as it said the divi could be ramped up significantly and they may also pay a special as they've loads of £$£$££ on the books.

[rivaldo] 24/11/2005 19:53

Another new high :o)) A 0.25p/0.5p rise every day like this is just fine...

And karldinnel, they actually said the final divi would be "not less than 3.4p", so that's the minimum we can expect!

[karldinnel] 24/11/2005 14:09

It's still well below where it should be. Remember that the final divi is going to be 3.4p. That means total divi for the year of 5p and a dividend yield of over 7 per cent at the current share price.

[leslas] 24/11/2005 13:54

Another new high Great share

[bigbobjoylove] 23/11/2005 10:07

whens Admirals results?? would'nt be surprised to see them announce a takeover for these.

[rivaldo] 23/11/2005 08:45

Another new high I believe. As you say BigBob, much more to come over the next 3-4 months up to that final divi imo.

A brief mention for HWY here - good to see them at the forefront of technology:

"Another way technology can help is to use voice stress analysis, which is being utilised by a number of UK companies, including eSure, Halifax and Highway Insurance.

DigiLog's fraud prevention process - used by those insurers - uses a combination of Voice Risk Analysis technology with careful questioning to spot and deter fraudsters."

[bigbobjoylove] 22/11/2005 18:17

its amazing because it is cheap,remember kgn was like this and that 4 bagged.Cheap at 100this given yield and growth.

[rochdae] 22/11/2005 17:12

Yes, seems like a bit of private investor selling and institutional buying. Looks good anyway.

[dogdogman] 22/11/2005 17:03

This will be blue in the morning, look at the buys after hours!!!

What an amazing share.

[karldinnel] 17/11/2005 08:32

Well I managed to find some more cash and increased my stake this morning. I've been in since August, when I bought a few shares at 44p. Since then, I've bought at 58.5p, 63p and (today) 67.5p.

I've haven't felt this good about a share for a long time!

[rochdae] 17/11/2005 08:04

This is starting to 'motor'!

[bigbobjoylove] 16/11/2005 14:50

strong lev 2 all day 5v1 now!