Sydney, June 26, 2026, 06:05 (AEST)
- QBE ended the day at A$24.88, putting it 6.2% ahead of where analysts see the stock on average over the next year. That difference comes to around A$2.3 billion for all 1.49 billion shares.
- QBE is priced at 12.44 times trailing earnings. Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG) is at 18.00 and Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN) trades on 21.58.
QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE) faces Friday trading with a mixed setup. Shares trade above broker consensus, while the company’s earnings multiple sits below those of bigger local insurers. These signals are moving in different directions.
QBE finished Thursday up 1.3% at A$24.88 after hitting a 52-week high of A$25.08. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.68% to 8,748.70. Normal ASX cash trading begins at 09:59:45 AEST.
QBE is up 25.1% since closing at A$19.89 on Dec. 31. The index has added 0.4% from 8,714.30 over the same period, so QBE leads by 24.7 percentage points on price. Dividends aren’t counted.
A group of 12 analysts has an average price target of A$23.34 for the stock, with the highest at A$26.44. The shares ended Thursday 6.6% above the average target. Even the top estimate is just 6.3% higher than the close. The value difference at the current share count between the average and the close is about A$2.3 billion.
QBE isn’t necessarily expensive just because of that gap. The price is ahead of consensus, but QBE still trades at a discount to peers. Investors are putting money in above the broker midpoint, though not at the same multiple as other local insurers.
QBE hasn’t posted its first-half numbers yet. If it shows a clean underwriting result, there’s room for another rerating. But if QBE misses on premium rates or takes a hit from catastrophe claims, the stock could fall, with less obvious upside left in the target range.
QBE Chief Executive Andrew Horton told investors at the insurer’s May annual meeting, “On balance we are tracking to plan and have maintained strong premium growth.” First-quarter gross written premium climbed 11%. Stripping out currency moves, that’s 7%. Group premium rates went up around 2%.
QBE said it booked roughly US$300 million in net catastrophe claims for the four months to April, staying under its US$517 million first-half allowance. The insurer also posted investment income of about US$500 million, with its main fixed-income yield around 4.1%.
QBE’s premium pricing is in focus. The company said nine-month 2025 rate growth dropped to 1.5%, and the shares slid as much as 5.9% on Nov. 27. “For QBE, the market has reacted to the rate of premium increases slowing significantly,” Generate KiwiSaver investment specialist Greg Smith said then. Reuters
QBE now sees gross written premiums growing at a mid-single-digit rate and is aiming for a combined operating ratio around 92.5% in 2026. The insurer reports first-half numbers and will make a call on its dividend on Aug. 14.
