Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Here is a question for you: I would be interested to hear your thoughts on Greenlight Capital Re. Thanks. Best regards.

Article Excerpt

Greenlight Capital Re, $22.63, symbol GLRE on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 36.2 million; Market cap: $819.2 million; www.greenlightre.ky), is a specialty property and casualty reinsurer based in the Cayman Islands. Reinsurers provide insurance to insurers to offset their risk. Greenlight’s lines of business include property (about 44% of premiums), casualty (27%) and specialty (29%). Most of the company’s premium revenue comes from clients in the U.S. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Greenlight lost $4.5 million, or $0.12 a share. A year earlier, it earned a profit of $29.0 million, or $0.80 a share. The loss came on its reinsurance operations. Like many other insurance businesses, Greenlight holds a lot of cash for investment. However, the company takes on a lot of risk with its investment portfolio, including substantial short selling of stocks and currencies, such as the euro and yen. Greenlight’s underwriting portfolio is also riskier than average. We don’t recommend Greenlight Capital Re. Re. …