Health Insurance Innovations Inc. led U.S. financial stocks in September, returning a blistering 35.9% for the month, compared to the industry's median total return of 4.0%.
Health Insurance's big finish followed a volatile month, in which it slumped 6.38% in the first week of September before hitting its positive trajectory. September's gains were not enough to offset poor performance earlier in the year, however, as the stock was down 6.7% year-to-date through Sept. 30.
The insurance broker was followed closely by specialty finance company Medallion Financial Corp., which ranked second with a 34.7% return, followed by Atlanta-based Atlanticus Holdings Corp., which returned 31.3%.
This analysis is limited to major exchange-traded U.S. financial stocks with a market cap of at least $100 million and an average daily volume of more than 20,000 shares.

Shares of managed care company Triple-S Management Corp. nosedived 34.7% in September, making it the worst performer among all financial institutions in the analysis. In late September, the company said its subsidiary, Triple-S Propiedad Inc., had paid $687.8 million in Hurricane Maria-related claims, resolving 96% of the claims received as of Sept. 26.
Insurance technology company eHealth Inc. posted the second-greatest loss of September, at 19.8%, followed by EZCORP Inc. with an 18.0% loss.

