Thanks to falls on overseas markets overnight, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is down 0.3% in late afternoon trade, with most of the top 20 stocks falling into the red. Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX: IAG) has lost 1.2%, falling 7 cents to $5.81.
Here are three reasons why the IAG might be trading lower today…
1) Profit-taking. Shares in IAG have rallied more than 7% in the past three months, handily beating the ASX 200's measly 1% gain. Maybe investors are taking some money off the table after that run – despite the fact IAG is still paying a 6.5% fully franked dividend!
2) Switching into competitors Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) or QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE), with the former expected to pay out some handy dividends and possibly a special dividend, while QBE has a large exposure to the economic recovery in the US.
3) Lower earnings. Consensus estimates for the 2015 financial year have IAG reporting 47 cents earnings per share, lower than this financial year's 52 cents. Maybe they haven't yet accounted for IAG's purchase of Wesfarmers Limited's (ASX: WES) underwriting business?
