Top 14 Life Insurance Stocks Ranked by Marvin Scores
Marvin ranks 14 life insurance stocks by Overall score against industry peers. Brighthouse Financial, Jackson Financial and MetLife lead today, while strong scores in one area often come with weak ones in another.
Life insurance companies collect premiums and invest the money to pay claims and benefits later. Marvin's rules picked these 14 companies from the Insurance - Life industry, and the list below runs from the highest Overall score to the lowest.
Look past the Overall score. Several companies combine strong profitability with shrinking revenue, or fast growth with thin margins. Each pick below names one caution so you can see the trade-offs.
Some figures are missing for certain companies, such as debt-to-equity for MetLife, Primerica, Aflac and CNO Financial. Two tickers, FG and FGN, share the same company name and financial figures but have different scores.
The list
How Marvin ranked these stocks
Marvin included companies above about $300 million in size and ranked them by Marvin scores, which run from 0 to 100. The list covers the Insurance - Life industry, with the highest Overall score first. Scores are relative to each company's own industry, so they show how a company compares with other life insurers today, not how it compares with all stocks.
Companies above about $300 million in size, ranked by Marvin scores (0-100, relative to each company's own industry). The Insurance - Life industry, highest Overall score first.
The stocks, one by one
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. BHF
Brighthouse Financial has the top Overall score, 89, with revenue growth of 43.2% and an operating margin of 14.7%. Return on equity of 12.7% is respectable and debt-to-equity is 0.48. Caution: its Quality score of 67 is lower than its Opportunity score, 89.
Jackson Financial Inc. JXN
Jackson Financial scores 83 overall, with a strong Quality score of 78 and revenue growth of 104.3%. Debt-to-equity is low at 0.28. Caution: operating margin is -0.3% and return on equity is only 1.0%, so profitability is thin.
MetLife, Inc. MET
MetLife earns 78 overall, led by a high Quality score of 83. Return on equity is 13.2% and revenue growth is 8.6%, a steady pace. Caution: operating margin is a modest 6.1%, and no debt-to-equity figure is available.
F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. FG
F&G Annuities & Life scores 72 overall, with return on equity of 9.1% and debt-to-equity of 0.49. Caution: revenue growth was -0.2%, essentially flat to slightly down, and no operating margin is available. Quality is a middling 56.
Abacus Global Management, Inc. ABX
Abacus Global Management scores 67 overall, with revenue growth of 110.2%, an operating margin of 31.8% and a gross margin of 88.4%. Caution: Quality is only 24, return on equity is 6.5%, and debt-to-equity is 0.79.
Primerica, Inc. PRI
Primerica has the highest Quality score on the list, 94, backed by return on equity of 31.6% and an operating margin of 29.9%. Revenue growth is 6.6%. Caution: its Opportunity score is just 40, which holds Overall to 62.
Lincoln National Corporation LNC
Lincoln National has an Opportunity score of 78, return on equity of 20.8% and an operating margin of 14.7%. Caution: revenue growth was -1.2%, a slight decline, and its Quality score is only 29, leaving Overall at 56.
Globe Life Inc. GL
Globe Life has an operating margin of 24.2% and return on equity of 19.7%, which suggest solid profitability, plus a Quality score of 73. Debt-to-equity is 0.52. Caution: revenue growth is a modest 3.7% and Opportunity is 45, so Overall is 51.
F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. FGN
FGN shares its company name and financial figures with FG: return on equity of 9.1%, debt-to-equity of 0.49 and revenue growth of -0.2%. Its Overall score is 46, below FG's 72. Caution: no operating margin is available, and growth is slightly negative.
Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU
Prudential Financial scores 40 overall. Return on equity is 12.4% and debt-to-equity is 0.65. Caution: revenue growth was -13.7%, a clear decline, and the operating margin is a thin 7.6%. Quality is 35.
Aflac Incorporated AFL
Aflac has a high Quality score of 89, an operating margin of 32.0% and return on equity of 16.0%. Caution: revenue growth was -9.3%, a decline, and Opportunity is just 12, so Overall is 35. No debt-to-equity figure is available.
Unum Group UNM
Unum Group has low debt-to-equity of 0.35 and revenue growth of 1.5%, barely moving. Caution: operating margin is 6.8% and return on equity is 6.5%, both modest, which gives an Overall score of 29.
Voya Financial, Inc. VOYA
Voya Financial has return on equity of 13.0%, an operating margin of 9.1% and debt-to-equity of 0.48. Caution: revenue growth is only 1.7% and the Opportunity score is 18, so Overall is 24.
CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO
CNO Financial has the lowest Overall score here, 18. Return on equity is 10.8% and operating margin is 7.7%, while revenue growth is 0.9%. Caution: Quality is 19, and no debt-to-equity figure is available.
Common questions
What does a life insurance company do?
A life insurance company collects premiums and promises payments, such as death benefits or annuity income, in the future. It invests the premiums in the meantime. Some companies in this group also sell annuities, retirement products or other insurance.
Why are some figures missing for certain stocks?
Marvin only shows a figure when the data is available for that company. Debt-to-equity is missing for MetLife, Primerica, Aflac and CNO Financial, and operating margin is missing for the two F&G listings. Free cash flow margin is not shown for any stock in this list.
Does a high Marvin score mean a stock is a good investment?
No. Marvin's scores only describe how a company compares with other life insurers today, based on figures like margins, growth and debt. They are not a forecast and not advice, so treat them as a starting point for your own research.
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Marvin's scores (0-100) compare each company with others in its industry today. Growth and margin figures come from SEC filings. This is general information, not personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Do your own research.