Life & Health Insurance

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) have been upgraded at Barclays Capital. The bank also boosted Aflac's (AFL) target price from $30 to $52. The stock had long since outpaced Barclay's original target, so this upgrade may be based on the price action in Aflac shares more so than fundamental...

According to Reuters, Hanwha has confirmed that it would be bidding for Prudential’s (NYSE: PRU) South Korean funds and brokerage units. The deal is expected to be estimated at $900 million and could pressure other struggling foreign financial firms to exit from their forays in the South Korean...

Following a strong preannouncement by Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE: HIG) for its latest quarter, several insurance companies opened higher this morning. Lincoln National Corp (NYSE: LNC) shares gained 1.90% to $27.91, while those of Principal Financial Group Inc (NYSE: PFG) rose 0.58...

China's financial system is nothing if not opaque and many of the country's financial companies are off limits to foreign investors. That's something Beijing may want to consider changing if Shanghai is going to rise to the level of New York, London and Tokyo on the world financial stage, but for...

Steiner Leisure Ltd. (NYSE: STNR) has purchased the Bliss World Unit from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) for $100 million as previously announced on November 2, 2009. The Bliss and Remede spas will remain exclusive to W Hotels and St. Regis Hotels. Ashford Hospitality Trust (...

For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – December 29, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include:...

Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) recently settled the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation pertaining to certain post-market surveys conducted by Guidant Corporation before being acquired by Boston Scientific in 2006. Per the terms of the settlement, Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $22...

ProLogis (PLD), one of the leading global providers of distribution facilities, recently completed a $113 million (10 billion yen) financing to repay its debt. The financing was obtained through a "tokutei mokuteki kaisha" (TMK), a tax-favored, special-purpose vehicle created in Japan for...

Shares of State Street Corp (NYSE: STT) jumped in the morning, reflecting investor appreciation of the company’s decision to buy Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo for $1.9 billion. STT’s move up on the stock market drove financial stocks higher in the day. STT’s shares added 3.62%, placing the company next...

Wells Fargo initiated coverage of StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: SFG) with a market perform rating. Its EPS estimates for 2009 and 2010 are $4.90 and $4.92 respectively. The stock is valued at $40-$44 based on 1x multiple of its projected 2010 book value. Risks to achieving this valuation...

Wells Fargo initiated coverage for Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) with an Outperform rating. Unum is a specialty disability insurer focusing on providing benefits to small to medium employer groups. Wells Fargo believes Unum is best positioned in the current market after a long period of recovery from a...

China has tightened land-sale regulations for developers in its latest attempt to take some of the steam out of the potentially overheating property market. The new rules include the first nationwide minimum down payment on land purchases from the government, and follow a vow from Beijing earlier...

Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC)(FREE stock trend analysis) to Overweight and gave a price target of $31, implying a 35% potential upside. The price target was attributed to the strengthening of fundamentals, a very low valuation following recent underperformance...

Pactiv Corporation (NYSE: PTV)(FREE stock trend analysis) was today upgraded by KeyBanc Capital Markets from Hold to Buy with a price target of $30. Pactiv Corporation is now trading at $24.13, 0.92% up in the pre-market session. So far in 2009, PTV declined by 3%. Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:...