Insurance Stocks Rebound As Investors Assess Hurricane Milton's Aftermath: X To Watch
Many experts warned that Hurricane Milton could be the worst storm in U.S. history. It made landfall Wednesday on the west coast of Florida, causing flooding and wind damage and leaving millions without power. While the full scope of the storm's damage is unknown, it was a Category 3, less powerful than initially anticipated.
On Thursday, as the immediate threat from Hurricane Milton began to diminish, investors cautiously responded by purchasing shares of companies that had been significantly affected in the lead-up to the storm. Many insurance stocks with exposure to Florida dropped sharply the week before Milton made landfall as traders and investors braced for potential catastrophic impacts.
HCI Corp (NYSE:HCI), American Coastal Insurance Corp (NYSE:ACIC) and Heritage Insurance Holdings (NYSE:HRTG) are three insurance companies that serve the Florida market. Each stock traded down more than 15% heading into the storm as investors worried about the storm's potential to cause billions of dollars of damage.
But Thursday morning, after the worst of the storm passed through the Sarasota and Tampa Bay regions, shares of the insurance companies traded higher. By midday Thursday, American Coastal shares traded higher by around 7%, HCI shares were up around 6%, and Heritage's stock was up around 3%.
In addition to the insurance stocks, Mosiac Co (NYSE:MOS) a chemical company with mines in Florida, traded higher by more than 3%. Mosaic shares had sold off ahead of the storm as investors worried about Milton flooding Mosiac's mines.
Meanwhile, Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) traded lower on Thursday. Generac, a company that produces generators for homes and businesses, tends to trade higher during natural disasters when people are left without power and reliant on solutions like generators.
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Photo courtesy of NASA.
