The Dividend Daily

Wells Fargo reported on Thursday that they have upgraded global insurance company, ACE Limited(ACE).

The firm has upgraded ACE from “Market Perform” to “Outperform,” and has increased its valuation range from $80 to $84 to $92 to $96. This range suggests up a 16% increase from the stock’s current price of $80.64.

A Wells Fargo analyst commented, “ACE Limited is one of the most diversified and global insurance companies today. ACE’s business mix has expanded both by line (A&H and crop) and region (Asia and Latin America) from its recent acquisitions. ACE’s strategy has been to hold onto capital to pursue acquisitions. Since 2007 the company has spent $5.8 billion on acquisitions and these deals represented about 23% of 2012 net premiums written.Going forward, ACE’s diversified business mix positions the company to benefit from the stronger commercial lines rating environment. ACE should also see premium growth as the recent acquisitions the company has made fully come on its books. Additionally, we expect ACE to continue to look for additional acquisitions, which would also expand the top line and be accretive to earnings.”

Ace Limited shares were mostly flat during premarket trading Thursday. The stock has increased 15% in the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Ace Limited (ACE) have a 2.43% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $80.64. The stock has technical support in the $76-$78 price area. The shares are trading at all-time highs.

ACE Limited(ACE) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.