What? By midday on Monday QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) shares had fallen over 2% after starting the day in positive territory. QBE's fall was more than double the 1% fall in the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) at the time, and had shareholders scratching their heads after no material news was released by the giant insurer.
So What? As Foolish investors will know, a 2% rise or fall in the share price of any company isn't that out of the ordinary, and when a volatile company like QBE falls by 2% there's usually not too much to worry about (10% would be a different story).
Investors will be pleased to know that no material news was announced, no giant storms are threating to cause insurable damage, and QBE's guidance hasn't changed. The only new piece of information released is the granting of some shares and options to CEO John Neal.
What Now? For long-term investors it's another day of 'nothing to see here'. As far as we know, QBE remains on track to hit full-year guidance of gross written premium (GWP) between US$15.5bn and US$15.9bn, net earned premium (NEP) between US$12.6bn and US$13.0bn, and combined operating ratio (COR) between 94% and 95%.
QBE's share price has run up from around $10 to well over $13 so far in 2015. While the 30% rise seems significant, QBE remains a superior option to rivals Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), both of which have limited share price and earnings upside in my opinion.
