Fairfax Financial (OTCMKTS:FRFHF) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FRFHF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $1,685.50, but opened at $1,730.00. Fairfax Financial shares last traded at $1,695.4680, with a volume of 1,390 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FRFHF shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered Fairfax Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fairfax Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Fairfax Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fairfax Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Fairfax Financial Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,698.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,726.55. The firm has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Fairfax Financial (OTCMKTS:FRFHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $57.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $55.45 by $2.12. Fairfax Financial had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.62 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. will post 166.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fairfax Financial Company Profile

Fairfax Financial (OTCMKTS:FRFHF) is a Toronto-based financial holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance and investment management. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products, operates specialty and run-off reinsurance businesses, and manages a diversified investment portfolio largely funded by insurance float. Fairfax conducts its insurance operations through a network of subsidiaries and affiliated companies that provide local underwriting and claims services across multiple markets.

On the insurance side, Fairfax writes a mix of short-tail and long-tail coverages across specialty lines, commercial casualty, property and other niche markets, while its reinsurance activities include treaty and facultative solutions for cedants and intermediaries.