(Reuters) – Shares of insurance and freight companies reacted as Hurricane Dorian crept toward the Florida coast on Friday, and the National Hurricane Center upgraded Dorian to a Category 3 storm on Friday afternoon.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for the northwestern Bahamas, and said Dorian was likely to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane as it approaches Florida through the weekend.
Here are some stocks to keep an eye on as Hurricane Dorian gathers strength:
CRUISE LINES
Climate risk consulting company Four Twenty Seven identified Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Four Twenty Seven also flagged health insurer Humana
FREIGHT
Shares in freight companies may gain after a destructive hurricane on bets they will see rising demand from businesses shipping in materials for rebuilding efforts. U.S. freight companies include USA Truck Inc
INSURANCE
Regional property insurers with exposure to Florida include United Insurance Holdings
Populations have risen along the Atlantic coast every year since 2000, despite increasing hurricane risks, according to AIR, a catastrophic risk management company. The total insured value of residential and commercial property in Florida’s coastal counties reached $3.6 trillion last year, up from $3.2 trillion in 2015.
BUILDING SUPPLIES
Hurricanes have had mixed effects on shares of building products. In September 2018, as Hurricane Florence approached North Carolina, shares of roofing and insulation companies rose while shares of cement companies fell. On Friday, shares of building supply companies, including Owens Corning
HOME IMPROVEMENT
Shares of Lowe’s Companies Inc
HOTELS
Shares of hotel operators have gained following previous hurricanes as demand from people displaced by hurricanes outweighed the hit from declines in tourism.
Hyatt Hotels Corp
GRAPHIC: Stocks to watch as Hurricane Dorian intensifies – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/12/5482/5432/Hurricane-sensiti…
(This story has been refiled to fix reversed words in 5th paragraph)
(Reporting by Sinead Carew, April Joyner, Suzanne Barlyn and Noel Randewich; Editing by Alden Bentley and Leslie Adler)