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Hub International: Benefiting Small Business

Formed by the 1998 merger of 11 Canadian insurance brokerages, Hub International (HBG) has since acquired 78 firms and established a presence in the U.S.

With 130 offices, Chicago-based Hub provides an array of insurance products, as well as employee-benefit services, mostly to businesses with 20 to 499 employees. Hub has benefited from premium hikes and recently boosted its 2002 earnings outlook, citing tighter cost controls.

When choosing stocks like Hub for his Century Small Cap Select fund, Lanny Thorndike likes to visit with the managers and see if the company is capable of generating at least 20% earnings growth, which he says Hub can do over the next few years.

The stock went public last June at $14. It now trades at 12 times the 2003 consensus earnings estimate of $1.13 per share.

-- Courtney McGrath

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