Health Insurance Innovations ( Nasdaq - HIIQ ) -- Expands its Platform

Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ $12.75) is a leading provider of short term medical plans.  It provides ancillary products, as well, including hospital indemnity, pharmacy, vision, and dental insurance.  A growing percentage of customers bundle more than one plan.  The company works with several major carriers like ING, Cigna, Nationwide, and U.S. Fire.  Those companies provide the actual underwriting.  Health Insurance Innovation works with them to design the products.  Primarily, though, it acquires the customers through its own agents and an external network of more than 100 call centers.  A variety of marketing techniques drive business to those sites.  The short term policies offered by the company are significantly less expensive than comparable Obamacare plans (excluding subsidies).  They normally extend for 6-11 months, making them exempt from the new law's stipulations regarding pre-existing conditions and guaranteed issue.  For healthy individuals, they provide attractive coverage because the same services are provided and the price is much lower, often as much as 40%-50%.  In the past a lot of prospective customers were reluctant to buy short term medical plans because they couldn't be renewed automatically.  That's still the case.  But under the new law if a chronic disease is acquired an individual can switch to an Obamacare policy, ensuring treatment.  Most of Health Insurance Innovation's customers are young and healthy.  Fewer than 5% are prevented from renewing due to health factors.  Those people now can buy a guaranteed issue plan on an exchange, eliminating that small risk.  Business has accelerated during the first half of 2014 as a result.

A recent acquisition will broaden Health Insurance Innovations' potential market.  The company has been working with Health Pocket, the new unit, for the past six months.  Much of the acceleration in growth the company has enjoyed is due to that relationship.  Health Pocket offers a database for consumers that contains virtually every health insurance policy for sale in the United States.  An easy to use interface enables potential buyers to search by key variables including price, deductibles, doctors, disease coverage, and geography.  Once a prospect narrows down his choices a toll free number appears, directing him to an agent who can explain the details and determine the right deal.  A click to chat option is available, as well.  The percentage of callers who purchase is much greater compared to callers responding to banner ads and other general promotions.  Growth in new business has topped 100% at Health Insurance Innovations over the past two quarters, driven in part by Health Pocket's high quality sales leads.  That trend in the short term medical segment appears likely to continue.

The Health Pocket deal will open up the Medicare Advantage and Small Group segments, as well.  Health Pocket currently is diverting those leads to other companies, earning a small commission.  Health Insurance Innovations plans to steer them to its own agents and affiliated call centers, sharply raising revenue per policy.  Customers who are best served by Obamacare plans, due either to the likelihood of subsidies or other factors, will be directed to the appropriate exchange.  Those deals will generate a modest commission.  The Medicare Advantage and Small Group markets each are at least 500% larger than the short term medical segment.  Revenue could exceed the short term business in 2-3 years, perhaps sooner.  Margins promise to be similar.

Profitability is likely to widen as volume expands.  In-house agents and external call centers earn commissions on the business they close.  Those expenses are variable.  But Health Insurance Innovation's technology platform is highly scalable.  Those costs are likely to increase far less rapidly than sales.

Our 2014 estimates assume that consolidation expenses will temporarily impact profits.  Some non-recurring costs are inevitable as the two companies officially join forces.  Health Insurance Innovations already is spending heavily on sales and marketing.  Those efforts might be reorganized to put some weight behind the Medicare Advantage and Small Group initiatives.  But the total amount spent may not expand too much.  If they do, earnings may finish below our forecast of $.40 a share.  (Prior to the merger we had estimated income of $.55 a share on $80 million in sales.)

Next year sales could advance 67% to $150 million to provide income of $.95 a share.  New business may climb at an even faster pace.  Revenue is recognized on a month to month basis, though, so even if a mountain of policies is written the recognition of that business will be spread out.  Medicare Advantage and Small Group plans ordinarily renew at a higher rate than short term policies, creating the potential for additional leverage down the road.  In 2-3 years revenues could attain $250-$300 million to yield income of $2.05-$2.65 a share.  Applying a P/E multiple of 20x to the midpoint of that range suggests a target price of $47.00 a share, potential appreciation of 265% from the current quote.

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Northern Technologies International - Rust Never Sleeps

Northern Technologies International (Nasdaq: NTIC $20.45) is a leading provider of anti-corrosion technology and solutions. The company mixes its formula with plastic pellets to create plastic sheets, which can then be formed into bags of various sizes. Parts are placed into the bags to inhibit vapor corrosion. The chemicals inside the bags release gases that will settle on the parts, keeping them protected. Once the bag is opened, the chemicals will evaporate. The company also sells to oil and gas companies, both to preserve flanges on ocean rigs and to safeguard oil storage tanks.

Northern Technology initially sold its products to automobile manufacturers. The company's offering is an alternative to "dipping lines," a method where car parts were coated in grease to protect them from rusting during transit and storage. Dipping tanks take up space and also present fumigation and fire hazards. Also, dipped pieces have to be cleaned off before being put to use.

Corrosion costs companies around the world roughly $300 billion per year. Of that amount, losses in the oil and gas industry total about $126 billion. Northern Technologies currently generates 9-10% of its revenue in the oil and gas sector. The company expects this business to grow faster than its core business, based on increasing demand and not much in the way of direct competition.

Nothern Technologies has two primary opportunities when it comes to the oil and gas industry. The first is protecting flanges on off-shore oil rigs. These rigs have miles of pipes that are connected by these flanges. Left unprotected, flanges generally need to be replaced in a matter of months. Rust and corrosion can  prevent the flanges from opening or closing, and a malfunctioning flange can lead to disaster in the event of an emergency. Revenue from an oil rig depends on the size of the rig and the number of flanges that can be treated. Some flanges operate at a high temperature that would compromise the corrosion inhibitor. Northern Technologies  generates about $50 in revenue for each flange it treats. Larger oil rigs can have around 8,000 flanges.

The company also treats oil storage tanks. The crude oil that's stored in these tanks usually isn't in there alone -- significant amounts of sulfur, water, and other contaminants like to crash the party. The sulfur and water can combine into hydro-sulfuric acid, that is very damaging to the tanks. It can cost a company millions of dollars per day to take a tank out of commission for repair or replacement. The company charges $25,000 on average for a tank job, but it ranges from $10,000-$100,000 depending on the size of the container.

Nothern Technologies operates with a number of joint ventures. The business model is derived from the Coca-Cola system, so the company ships the "secret ingredient" -- in this case, the chemical additive -- to its partners, and lets them deploy it in projects worldwide. There is a basic understanding that Northern Technologies will provide ongoing technical support to its joint ventures, including R&D. The joint ventures are responsible for sales and marketing in their respective territories. Northern Technologies pays taxes in the countries its joint ventures operate in, and receives foreign tax credits in the US. It is responsible for any difference between the foreign rate and the US rate.

Price negotiation can be impacted by the customer's circumstances. In 2004, one U.S. automaker learned the value of Nothern Technologies the hard way. The automaker decided to shift to a Chinese part supplier to cut costs. The problem was that this new supplier had very little experience in shipping these parts overseas and didn't take proper precautions. The parts passed through essentially every type of climate imaginable on the route from Northern China to Detroit. The parts were useless upon arrival, and the carmaker had to have new parts delivered via air freight to prevent production lines from shutting down. The automaker wound up losing billions of dollars that year. The company then hired Northern Technologies to work with the manufacturers in China and ensure the parts could be safely shipped by sea. In this case, Northern Technologies was able to negotiate a very favorable deal, because the automaker didn't have much of a choice.

Earnings per share have increased 58.8% since 2010, from $0.51 to $0.81 in 2013. We project earnings will finish 2014 at $1.05, and we have set a 2-3 target of $2.20-$2.80 per share. Applying a P/E ratio of 20 to the midpoint of that range suggests a target price of $50 per share, an appreciation of 145% over the current price. Revenues figure to be in the neighborhood of $28 million for 2014, per the company's guidance, a 24.4% increase over $22.5 million in 2013.

Eric Ramsley

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