Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) should get a new lease on life in 2020 due to a heavy push for affordable housing perfectly timed with state regulation and advancements in construction technology.

The ADU housing approach is a fast and creative way to address affordable housing. ADUs, which have been around for years, go by a variety of names: casitas, pool homes, in-law suites, granny flats, guesthouses and secondary dwelling units, among them.

They are getting more attention amid the housing crisis as a way to leverage existing city infrastructure preventing urban sprawl and costly system expansions. Construction of ADUs creates jobs as well as additional tax revenue. And since ADUs are typically smaller than a traditional home, they are less costly to build. With so many wins, why havent ADUs gone viral?

Interior of Los Angeles ADU courtesy of Dossier Capital. Converted garage interior post-renovation.

Developers have another name for NIMBYs, or the not-in-my-backyard crowds: theyre BANANAs. The build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything movement is real, loud, costly and frustrating for states attempting to address affordable housing. When affordable housing projects land at a city, unhappy citizens protest the elected officials they put in office and projects get nixed.

But, NIMBYs cant take all the credit. Berkeleys Terner Center for Housing Innovation produced a report, Residential Impact Fees in California, and found some cities in California were charging upward of $50,000 in impact fees for accessory dwelling units. This is particularly troublesome since ADUs range from 350-1,200 square feet and are placed on existing sites with existing infrastructure. Exorbitant impact, park, utility and school fees are just a few ways cities are stifling the ADU movement in California which has been pushing ADUs since 2017.

In October, the city of Los Angeles released findings on its $1.2 billion affordable housing bond (Proposition HHH) showing since 2016, of the 6,000 housing units in process, the average per unit cost is over $500,000. The mouth-dropping cost combined with news of a 16% increase in LAs homeless population to 36,000 means LA and other California cities need other options.

October 2019 was one for the ADU history books. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 18 real estate related bills including five on ADUs making good on his promise to address Californias serious lack of construction and shortage of affordable housing.

Californias handful of bills addressing ADU issues were far reaching and took away local control from city governments, effectively eliminating NIMBY pushback.

Updates necessitate that cities standardize size requirements, update set back rules, approve permits within 60 days, clarify parking rules and launch a five-year owner-occupancy moratorium. It also drastically cuts impact fees. The goal is to make ADUs cheaper, faster and easier to get through the building-approval process.

Since the state is allowing and recommending ADUs count toward affordable housing numbers which only a small fraction of cities in California are meeting we can expect to measure the impact starting in 2021 after a year of tracking ADU numbers.

Thankfully, two technology trends are gaining traction that will address two key issues for the ADU market: skilled labor shortages and construction costs.

Converted garage in Los Angeles into a one-bedroom ADU around 500 square feet. View from the ... [+] backdoor of main house.

According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in 2019, the cost and availability of skilled labor was one of the top challenges builders faced in 2018 and expected to face in 2019. It will likely receive top billing again in 2020. Thats where prefab construction comes in.

Not to be confused with manufactured homes, prefabricated homes are also built in an indoor plant and shipped and erected on site, however, they fall under the same code as stick-build homes. The smaller size of ADUs fits in perfectly with prefab manufacturing and companies are taking notice, including the likes of Amazon.

Amazon announced an investment into Plant Prefab via the Alexa Fund in 2018. Plant Prefab positions itself as a fully integrated architecture firm able to design, build and install the prefab home of your dreams. From the 406 square foot AD1 model to the affordable multifamily Nest model (not to be confused with Alphabets Nest brand), Plant Prefab is making waves in the affordable housing space.

Other prefab manufacturers are also targeting the ADU market including prefabADU, adobu and California Modulars to name a few.

Prefab manufacturers will get additional competition via 3D printed homes in the next few years. Apis Cor, Mighty Buildings, Haus.me and ICON are just a handful of 3D printed home manufacturers. A select few are specifically targeting the affordable housing space.

In 2018, ICON built a 350 square foot home in 48 hours with the printed structure costing $10,000. ICONs stated goal is getting that cost to $4,000. Apis Cor alerted Facebook followers in October to expect news on affordable housing projects in California and Louisiana. Theyve partnered with the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County to create a one-story affordable home prototype.

Prefabricated and 3D printed home technology are gaining momentum at a time when skilled labor and affordable housing shortages are forcing state legislators to look at all options. If California successfully pushes ADUs into the mainstream, other states will follow. 2020 will likely be the year of the ADU.

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2020: The Year Of The ADU - Forbes

Multifamily development presents a significant gap. The U.S. needs to build an average of 328,000 new units every year through 2030, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Yet the nation has produced that many apartments only once since 1989. Major tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google have collectively pledged billions for affordable housing initiatives on the West Coast, but that commitment addresses only one aspect of a national crisis.

READ THE GUIDE

To explore the causes and potential solutions of this critical issue, Multi-Housing News invited four multifamily leaders to participate in a roundtable: Christopher Ptomey, executive director of the Terwilliger Center for Housing at the Urban Land Institute; Inna Khidekel, partner at Bridge Investment Group; Jeffery Hayward, executive vice president & head of multifamily at Fannie Mae and Richard Burns, president & CEO of The NHP Foundation.

What do you see as the major threats to the affordable housing supply?

Ptomey: The major challenge is that in many areas of the country you see household formation and job creation at a faster rate than the housing that is being produced. Since we have substantial shortages, supply continuing to lag and not meeting demand forces prices to go higher and higher. Getting cities to plan to produce the amount of housing they need is a continuing challenge and a big driver of challenge in many parts of the country. In many higher-cost cities, a need to preserve any affordable housing that is currently there is a challenge, as well. Having sufficient production to meet demand is most important. Needs to be forward looking.

Khidekel: There are a lot of structural issues prohibiting supply. The cost of construction is up around 81 percent this cycle relative to the last. Class B construction has declined from 61 percent to less than 20 percent of new supply. There is an oversupply on the high end of the housing spectrum, despite the fact that over two thirds of the U.S. workforce earns under 80 percent of the Area Median Income. (Meanwhile,) 96 percent of whats being built requires an income of $75,000 annually.

Hayward: The first threat is that there wont be enough apartments for people of modest (means). Everything getting built is Class A, high-rent, in major cities. If youre (willing) to pay high rents, youll have an apartment, but (who) is left behind is the local (firefighter), barber, cook, police officer. For them, there are not as many apartments.

Part of that is (the combination of) things happening in the marketplace: the three Ls. First land is really expensive. The cost of labor is the next issue, where there isnt an ample supply of labor and the labor in place is aging. Last thing is lawwhat it takes to get something new built out of the ground. We have to solve those three problems. There are programs in place trying, but thats not for the middle income. There isnt a place for them, and thats the biggest threat.

Burns: A rise in interest rates. In September, we saw overnight short-term rates briefly spike to over 10 percent. This was due to a temporary lack of liquidity and has since been addressed by the Federal Reserve.

Diminished supply of soft money; most affordable housing transactions have multiple sources of funds in the capital stack. Failure of Congress to pass all or part of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Improvement Act; the bill would expand the housing credit by 50 percent and increase existing incentives to encourage developers to build rental homes affordable to extremely low-income households and to families in underserved rural and tribal communities.

Lastly, new Community Reinvestment Act regulations that affect the amount of capital available for preservation and development. Because bank investors in Low Income Housing transactions can receive the added benefit of meeting their obligations, they will pay a premium for these CRA area LIHTC credits and add much-needed equity to the sources of funds. Any effort to relax the CRA standards would tend to evaporate the premium banks pay for the CRA credits.

What encouraging signs of progress do you see in the private and public sectors?

Ptomey: I think whats most encouraging in the public sector is the level of attention housing is getting these days, (from) mayors and city council members, even in the recent Democratic (presidential candidate) debates. It certainly hasnt been an issue that got attention in the past. Its encouraging to discuss it more, but whats behind that is a larger challenge. Public policy changes over time will address these housing needs, like zoning changes. From a development perspective, we see them adjusting to provide product at a lower price point to repair the housing ladder.

Burns: There is a greater interest by institutional investors in affordable housing. For example, technology companies Apple, Google and Facebook have each announced large financial commitments to expand the inventory of affordable housing by direct investment outside of making LIHTC investments. (Another sign is) renewed allocations for affordable housing at Fannie & Freddie. To ensure a strong focus on affordable housing and traditionally underserved markets, FHFA directed that at least 37.5 percent of the Fannie and Freddie multifamily business be mission-driven, affordable housing. More emphasis on health and housingsome truly encouraging and positive steps are that major businesses and healthcare providers such as Kaiser (Permanente) and UnitedHealthcare are eager to help provide additional housing by providing capital apart from investing in LIHTC. These are most welcome investments as they may pair well with our usual capital sources to expand and grow the housing stock.

What more needs to be done?

Khidekel: There needs to be more institutional equity capital. There are lots of lending solutions, like the Community Development Financial Institutions and nonprofits stepping in to provide incentives, but thats focused on the lowest end of the population from an income perspective. The biggest need is in the missing middle. We need more focus on the preservation and rehabilitation of housing, which is the bread and butter of the U.S. workforce. Lastly, we need more capital focused on this space, as opposed to debt.

Hayward: Im a big believer in public-private partnerships. Lets deal with major cities, with more cooperation between local governments and business. If cities can think about costs of land and get that out of the way so developers can make more units, they can still make a profit. For the existing stock, its trying to stave off existing stock from obsolescence. Owners need to rehab properties to keep the supply online. More owners need to do this, and they have to do it in a green way. Be cognizant of energy savings and conserving water to keep costs down so rents dont go high.

Are there currently significant incentives for private developers to build and preserve affordable housing?

Ptomey: I dont know about incentives. There is opportunity in building affordable and workforce housing right now. What weve seen is diminishing returns on luxury in certain parts of the country, but you wont get same level of return if building affordable/workforce.

Khidekel: No. When you just provide one incentive but not others for developers, its mathematically impossible to make that housing work. Opportunity zone legislation hasnt done anything to help the market. When there is affordable associated, its a small component, usually under 30 percent. Its so hard and expensive to build today that you cant make the numbers work.

Hayward: The most successful is the LIHTC program. You get the benefit of a tax code. Some of the other things are more local, such as states issuing bonds, but in my view its all about tackling the three Ls (land, labor and law).

Burns: If were considering the incentives for non-LIHTC private developer, these are presently limited only to economic incentives. In the affordable housing space, we automatically default to 60 percent of the Area Median Income as affordable as thats where the incentive lies. A private, non-LIHTC developer might do a fantastic job of providing affordable housing by renovating a Class C apartment and renting it to tenants at or below 60 percent of AMI without ever looking at the maximum LIHTC rents.

Apple is the latest in a series of giant tech companies that have made a major financial commitment to affordable housing. Do you think these private sector initiatives make a difference?

Ptomey: I think well see more in the future as long as there is the substantial undersupply we see today. Companies want to ensure employees have access to adequate housing. Its helpful to a company to retain its workforce, and if you get to benefit from that, then its great at the household level. But unfortunately, the scale of the affordability challenge right now is (such) that these investments wont make a dent in the overall (deficit). Its a great impact, but at the end of the day policies need to be in place, paperwork needs to be done. If regulations are not in place to enable investments to have the greatest impact, we wont have a good opportunity.

Khidekel: We will see more of it happening. Its promising because its adding appropriate attention to the crisis. There needs to be recognition in order that having a sustainable business is having a sustainable workforce. In California, there is a huge issue. The problem with this is 1) its localized to specific areas for them, which is not a scalable solution; and 2) in order to make this work, theyd need to partner with nonprofits and municipalities to focus on the lowest segment, but the most at-risk workforce wont qualify for that type of housing.

What are some of the out-of-the-box solutions that you would like to see the private and public sectors pursue?

Ptomey: Not sure there are any approaches at this point. Where progress can be made is where citizens and developers can address (the obstacles) blocking what makes these properties affordable. Enable more housing on available land, looking at ways to reduce construction costs, manufacturing products, get economies of scale at work, addressing labor costs, anywhere you can get technological changes to reduce the cost around the edges will be great. You have to really look at a policy level: What is the entitlement process, can it be compressed, being able to know quicker if you can make that development or not.

Khidekel: One is construction methodologies. The U.S. is behind Europe and Asia for modular construction. Materials are either constructed in Poland or China, but less than 4 percent (of those materials) are modular. We need to take these concepts and apply them to the problem. Manufactured housing is another potential solution. The difficulty is zoning and entitlement, but there are ways to partner with local governments to create more.

Burns: Crafting creative public-private partnerships to shoulder the affordable housing burden is a solution rooted in past success and primed for the future. The industry currently benefits from the capital provided by a number of institutional investors. We recently partnered with Kingsley Associates to interview decision-makers in institutional investment on barriers to increased investment in affordable housing and some possible solutions. Takeaways included the discussion around government barriers providing the industry with an opportunity to work with top housing advocacy groups to lobby Congress to simplify the rules and look for a different set of benefits to encourage more pension fund investment; the affordable housing ecosystem needs to develop more tools to communicate accurate information and create more opportunities to present the data; those in affordable housing need to use creative and thoughtful storytellingin addition to financial returnsto engage investors; less restrictive zoning, and zoning bonuses and tax abatements for meaningful commitment to affordable housing development; and (fewer) delays getting permits and approvals.

How will rent control impact the future of affordable housing? Will it help or hurt the situation?

Khidekel: It hurts affordable housing because it reduces the incentive to do business in that area for developers and general investors, (which focus) on income levels that are too high relative to where the biggest help needs to be. Rather than helping population at risk, it forces real estate participants to exit the market. Its putting people out of business in the industry.

Burns: I think it will hurt. Under rent control, many fewer units will be built increasing, the demand for apartments, with more Class B properties being upgraded to get higher rents.

What are some solutions for affordable senior housing?

Ptomey: There are a variety of things. ULIs Emerging Trends looked at senior housing, and one (finding) is that many more Baby Boomers want to age in place, so there are a variety of ways to help make that happen. One (solution) suggested was accessory apartments. If youre living in a larger home, and at some point you want to make part of it into an apartment, you could have someone live in the home with you if you need care, or rent out the space for additional (income). A certain number (of seniors) do want to downsize and that (creates) some competition with younger, growing families looking for bigger homes. Having the missing middle typology is also messing with the need.

Hayward: Two things. 1) The LIHTC program has some age restrictions for developments. Looking at that would be a good idea for single-family seniors wanting to stay in their homes. 2) There are a ton of seniors buildings out there, but they are not part of developments where mostly seniors live. They should be more cognizant of how those buildings are financed and help with that.

Burns: HUD needs to reinstate payments for services to seniors. For (Section 202 properties), the rents must be escalated to current market rates to support preservation.

Read the CPE-MHN Guide to 2020.

Original post:

Housing Leaders on Solutions for the Missing Middle - Multi-Housing News

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Maiden (NASDAQ:MHLD) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.6% of Progressive shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.9% of Maiden shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Progressive shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.2% of Maiden shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares Progressive and Maidens top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Maiden.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Progressive and Maiden, as reported by MarketBeat.

Progressive presently has a consensus target price of $81.17, indicating a potential upside of 12.50%. Maiden has a consensus target price of $1.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.02%. Given Maidens higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Maiden is more favorable than Progressive.

Profitability

This table compares Progressive and Maidens net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Volatility and Risk

Progressive has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maiden has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Progressive beats Maiden on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides personal and commercial auto insurance, residential property insurance, and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services primarily in the United States. Its Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos, and recreational and other vehicles. This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, and snowmobiles. The company's Commercial Lines segment provides primary liability, physical damage, and other auto-related insurance for autos, vans, pick-up trucks, and dump trucks used by small businesses; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and non-fleet long-haul operators; dump trucks, log trucks, and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, and coal-type businesses; tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses; and non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis. Its Property segment provides residential property insurance for homes, condos, manufactured homes, and renters, as well as offers personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company also offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; home, condominium, renters, and other insurance; and general liability and business owner's policies, and workers' compensation insurance. In addition, it offers reinsurance services. The Progressive Corporation sells its products and services through independent insurance agencies, as well as directly on Internet, and mobile devices, and over the phone. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

Maiden Company Profile

Maiden Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance solutions to regional and specialty insurers primarily in Europe and internationally. The company writes treaties on a quota share basis and excess of loss basis. It also offers auto and credit life insurance products through its insurer partners to retail clients. Maiden Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

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Maiden (NASDAQ:MHLD) and Progressive (NASDAQ:PGR) Head to Head Survey - Slater Sentinel

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Friday to help streamline recovery efforts in the five counties where 13 wildfires burned in October.

The fires destroyed houses, mobile homes, manufactured homes and other structures and left debris, forced closure of highways and roads and destroyed or damaged infrastructure.

Newsom's executive order helps displaced residents with housing needs by facilitating manufactured homes and mobile home parks, and waiving fees to replace driver's licenses and birth certificates of residents affected by the fires.

The order, which contains a dozen sections, includes a three-year suspension of planning and zoning requirements that pertain to recreational vehicles, mobile homes, manufactured homes mobile home parks and special occupancy parks that were damaged or destroyed as a result of wind events and fires.

Many residents face a challenging recovery, and strict compliance with various statutes and regulations addressed in the order would prevent, hinder or delay the mitigation of the effects of the fires, Newsom said.

Newsom issued proclamations of a state of emergency on Oct. 11 for Riverside and Los Angeles counties, where five fires burned, on Oct. 25 in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties, where two fires burned, and on Oct. 27 for severe fire weather conditions that began on Oct. 26.

During the severe fire weather, six fires began burning in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, Newsom said.

All orders and provisions in proclamations dated Oct. 11, 25 and 27 shall remain in force and effect, the executive order states.

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Gov. Newsom Issues Executive Order to Help Wildfire Areas Recover - NBC Bay Area

If you shop on Black Friday theres a decent chance the parking lot youre in wont be full. Across the United States, there are about500 million surface-lot parking spacesfor the272.48 million registered vehicles. There are far more parking spots than there are carswhich means theres a lot of underutilized land throughout the countryin parking lots at malls, strip malls, Walmarts, Targets, hardware stores, as well as in urban parking garages. Why not use the space to allow more Americans to own homes?

Housing is a commodity whose value has greatly outpaced the rate of inflation in the United States; from 1997 to 2006 (the Housing Bubble) average home prices increased by 124 percent,according to The Economist; even though the bubble eventually burst, home pricescontinue rising. Many young Americans have enormous student loan debt (Americans carry $1.6 trillion of it). Pair that with rising housing costs, unaffordable health care and a birth rate which is already sub-replacement level, and there could bedire consequencesfor the nation.

Former President George W. Bushattempted to fix this issueat the federal level to increase minority support for the GOP and to help some of his big bank donors. It didnt work. Fortunately, housings an issue that can primarily be addressed at the local levelby relaxing stringent zoning laws. In many communities, zoning is bad not only for businesses, but also those who want affordable places to live, either as buyers or renters. In the Greater Boston Area, the limousine liberals who run many communities have made the minimum lot size to construct a house in parts of their towns at least one acre. In many communities, multi-family housing is not allowed, according toBoston Fair Housing.

There are many cases where the land a house is built on is worth more than the building itself. Putting up barriers like minimum lot sizes and spacing between developments artificially raises housing costs. This makes people buy more than they need and decreases the total number of houses that can be built. Surely, theres a market for big houses with big lots placed far away from each other. Thats great for those who want it. Conversely, theres a market for people who dont need much space, cant afford it or are willing to suck it up because they want to build equity instead of renting.

These giant underused parking lots offer that potential if developers could build bungalows, manufactured homes (cheaper building costs and good for the domestic manufacturing industry), cottages, tiny houses, or another affordable style packed in together without yards. The averageparking space is 180 square feet; the averagestudio apartment is 500 to 600 square feet; and three parking spaces are 540 square feet.

It would require multi-use zoning in these lots to build housing. Ideally, there would be no minimum space requirement between buildings to maximize efficiency. If that makes NIMBYs mad, too bad. Theystrangle our countrys GDP with their protectionism.The lots would still have parking spaces for customers and residents to use. The property tax on these cheap houses would be significantly lower than a house with more land; theres even the idea that housing could be built within parking garages within cities thats worth exploring. However, with these low-to-the-ground types of housing, there wouldnt be a need to change height regulations for new building projects.

This wouldnt be a magic solution to cure the death of shopping malls. Fortunereported in 2017that 20 to 25 percent of them could close in the next five years. Although not the main intention, the shift in zoning could soften the blow. If those stores are the closest to where someone lives, then the odds of them patronizing the store increase. Theres a reason whyWalmart allows RVs to park overnight in its lots. Its an issue where the limited government crowd should be able to find support in urban communities because they have an opportunity to help the working class cost-effectively; they can find common ground with progressives and populists against the red tape hurting millions of Americans.

Its also a place where people have an opportunity to make a difference by getting involved with local government by running for office or appealing to their local zoning board instead of letting some weirdly statist townies make up the rules.

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A Lot of Parking - Splice Today

If you want to submit a bid to tear down a long abandoned industrial site on Eastons South Side, youre running out of time.

Bids are due Friday, Nov. 29, to tear down the Black Diamond Enterprises site at 430 W. Lincoln St. It once manufactured metal surfaces and tabletops for restaurants. Before that the plant was the Stewart Silk Mill.

By 2007 it was the repository for graffiti and in 2012 it made the citys blight list.

Now a developer plans to raze it and replace it with an affordable housing community. Lara Schwager said Nov. 29 is the deadline to submit bids to demolish the site. Shes the vice president of development with PIRHL, or Partners in Residential Housing Leadership of Cleveland, Ohio.

We hope to make an award mid-December and start construction soon thereafter, she said.

PIRHL is partnering with developer Tim Harrison. They plan to put in 55 homes and 27,000 square feet of commercial space.

Since the project is financed in part through tax credits, the homes must be rented to individuals who earn between 30 and 80 percent of the neighborhoods average median income, Schwager said.

The city has struggled for years and dangled economic incentives to get the property cleaned up and developed. The city secured $2 million in grants to help fund the cleanup.

The property caught fire in 2016 and has been crumbling steadily ever since.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Photo of the Black Diamond site, formerly the Stewart Silk Mill at 430 W. Lincoln St. in Easton on Nov. 21, 2019.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

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Deadline Friday to bid on clean-up of long-abandoned Easton industrial site - lehighvalleylive.com

Tricon Capital Group Inc (TSE:TCN) Analysts at National Bank Financial issued their FY2021 earnings per share estimates for shares of Tricon Capital Group in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, November 10th, Zacks Investment Research reports. National Bank Financial analyst T. Woolley anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.11 per share for the year.

TCN has been the topic of several other reports. CIBC lowered their price objective on Tricon Capital Group from C$14.00 to C$13.75 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and set a C$12.00 target price on shares of Tricon Capital Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

TCN stock opened at C$11.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion and a PE ratio of 18.38. Tricon Capital Group has a 12-month low of C$9.33 and a 12-month high of C$11.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.28. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$10.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$10.34.

About Tricon Capital Group

Tricon Capital Group Inc is a principal investor and asset manager focused on the residential real estate industry in North America. The firm owns and manages on behalf of third-party investors a portfolio of investments in land and homebuilding assets, single-family rental homes, manufactured housing communities, and multi-family development projects.

Recommended Story: How a Put Option Works

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Tricon Capital Group (TCN)

For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

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Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Tricon Capital Group Incs FY2021 Earnings (TSE:TCN) - Riverton Roll

Kingstone Companies (NASDAQ:KINS) and Progressive (NYSE:PGR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Dividends

Kingstone Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Kingstone Companies pays out 53.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Progressive pays out 9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility & Risk

Kingstone Companies has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Progressive has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kingstone Companies and Progressives revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Kingstone Companies. Kingstone Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progressive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Kingstone Companies and Progressives net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Kingstone Companies and Progressive, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Kingstone Companies currently has a consensus price target of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 70.38%. Progressive has a consensus price target of $82.36, indicating a potential upside of 12.75%. Given Kingstone Companies stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Kingstone Companies is more favorable than Progressive.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.5% of Kingstone Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Progressive shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Kingstone Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Progressive shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Progressive beats Kingstone Companies on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kingstone Companies

Kingstone Companies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Kingstone Insurance Company, underwrites property and casualty insurance products to small businesses and individuals in New York. The company offers personal lines insurance products, including homeowners and dwelling fire multi-peril, cooperative/condominiums, renters, and personal umbrella policies. It also provides commercial liability policies, such as business owner's policies comprising primarily of small business retail, service, and office risks; artisan's liability policies for small independent contractors; multi-peril policies for larger and specialized risks, and business owner's risks; and commercial umbrella policies. In addition, the company offers for-hire vehicle physical damage only policies for livery and car service vehicles and taxicabs; and canine legal liability policies, as well as reinsurance products. It sells its products through retail and wholesale agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as DCAP Group, Inc. and changed its name to Kingstone Companies, Inc. in July 2009. Kingstone Companies, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Kingston, New York.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides personal and commercial auto insurance, residential property insurance, and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services primarily in the United States. Its Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos, and recreational and other vehicles. This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, and snowmobiles. The company's Commercial Lines segment provides primary liability, physical damage, and other auto-related insurance for autos, vans, pick-up trucks, and dump trucks used by small businesses; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and non-fleet long-haul operators; dump trucks, log trucks, and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, and coal-type businesses; tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses; and non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis. Its Property segment provides residential property insurance for homes, condos, manufactured homes, and renters, as well as offers personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company also offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; home, condominium, renters, and other insurance; and general liability and business owner's policies, and workers' compensation insurance. In addition, it offers reinsurance services. The Progressive Corporation sells its products and services through independent insurance agencies, as well as directly on Internet, and mobile devices, and over the phone. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

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Contrasting Kingstone Companies (NASDAQ:KINS) and Progressive (NASDAQ:PGR) - Riverton Roll

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Progressive and Hanover Insurance Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Progressive has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hanover Insurance Group has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Progressive and Hanover Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

Progressive currently has a consensus target price of $82.36, suggesting a potential upside of 12.75%. Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $118.71, suggesting a potential downside of 12.67%. Given Progressives higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Progressive is more favorable than Hanover Insurance Group.

Dividends

Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Hanover Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Progressive pays out 9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hanover Insurance Group pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Progressive shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.7% of Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Progressive shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Progressive and Hanover Insurance Groups revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Hanover Insurance Group. Progressive is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hanover Insurance Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Progressive beats Hanover Insurance Group on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides personal and commercial auto insurance, residential property insurance, and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services primarily in the United States. Its Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos, and recreational and other vehicles. This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, and snowmobiles. The company's Commercial Lines segment provides primary liability, physical damage, and other auto-related insurance for autos, vans, pick-up trucks, and dump trucks used by small businesses; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and non-fleet long-haul operators; dump trucks, log trucks, and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, and coal-type businesses; tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses; and non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis. Its Property segment provides residential property insurance for homes, condos, manufactured homes, and renters, as well as offers personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company also offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; home, condominium, renters, and other insurance; and general liability and business owner's policies, and workers' compensation insurance. In addition, it offers reinsurance services. The Progressive Corporation sells its products and services through independent insurance agencies, as well as directly on Internet, and mobile devices, and over the phone. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, umbrella, healthcare, mono-line general liability, and miscellaneous commercial property insurance products; and other commercial coverages, including inland marine, specialty program business, management and professional liability, surety, and specialty property. The Personal Lines segment provides personal automobile and homeowner's coverages, as well as other personal coverages, such as personal inland marine, umbrella, fire, personal watercraft, earthquake, and other miscellaneous coverages. The Other segment offers investment management and advisory services to institutions, pension funds, and other organizations. The company markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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Reviewing Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) and Progressive (NYSE:PGR) - Slater Sentinel

A 73-year-old woman was pronounced dead Friday night after the clothing she was wearing caught fire inside her home just north of Bath, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said.

The victim is identified as Elizabeth Grube, the only occupant of and the only person home at the time of the incident at 140 Robin Ave. in Moore Township, according to Lysek.

The incident was reported about 6:45 p.m. Grube was pronounced dead at the scene inside the Scotty's Manufactured Homes park for ages 55 and older.

An autopsy is scheduled Sunday to try to determine the cause and manner of death, but a determination will likely be subject to further testing, Lysek said.

The fire did not extend into the home, and officials were continuing to investigate how it started, Lysek said.

The Klecknersville Rangers Volunteer Fire Co. and Moore Township police also responded.

Further information on the investigation was not immediately available.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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Woman pronounced dead after clothing catches fire inside her home - lehighvalleylive.com