Protective Life shares fall as analyst cuts target

Protective Life shares fell 39 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $10.13. Shares have traded between $7.33 and $45.85 during the past year.

Citi Investment Research analyst Keith Walsh cut his price target for the stock to $12 from $40, but maintained a "Hold" rating. He also adjusted his risk rating to "Speculative" from "Medium Risk."

Walsh cut the price target and risk view because of an industrywide decline in price-to-book value ratio and an expected slowdown in earnings per share growth. The "Speculative" risk rating is more consistent with an overall view of risk profiles for insurance firms, Walsh wrote in a research note.

Walsh reduced his 2009 earnings estimate to $3.50 per share from $4.30 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast 2009 earnings of $3.90 per share.

In the note, Walsh said Protective Life's third-quarter results were "pretty good" based largely on strength in its life marketing unit.

Overall results, like those at many other insurers, were hurt by investment losses.

Protective Life lost $100 million during the third quarter, or $1.40 per share, compared with earnings of $73 million, or $1.02 per share, during the year-ago quarter.

Net investment losses reduced third-quarter results by $2.28 per share.