Baldwin & Lyons Inc. Stock Downgraded (BWINB)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Baldwin & Lyons (Nasdaq:BWINB) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 20.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 14.5%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• BWINB's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.03 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels.
• Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Insurance industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 210.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $4.99 million to -$5.50 million.
• Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Insurance industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, BALDWIN & LYONS underperformed against that of the industry average and is significantly less than that of the S&P 500.

Baldwin & Lyons, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in marketing and underwriting property and casualty insurance products primarily in the United States. Baldwin & Lyons has a market cap of $273.8 million and is part of the financial sector and insurance industry. Shares are down 0.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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• Baldwin & Lyons Inc. Income Statement