The Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) share price has performed well over the last 12 months, but it's also been bested by one of its health insurance peers.
The Medibank share price is currently 9.03% higher than it was this time last year, having finished last week's trade at $3.14.
The NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price, however, has surged an impressive 20.07% over the last 12 months. It's currently valued at $6.52.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained just 6.48% since this time last year.
So, what pushed NIB's stock to outperform that of Medibank over the period? Let's take a look.
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Why has the NIB share price outperformed Medibank?
NIB's stock pulled ahead of Medibank's this time last year and managed to hold on to that lead for much of the last 12 months.
That push was brought on by a business update and full-year outlook released by NIB in late April.
Then, the company returned to providing guidance after scrapping the notion in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
And it was good guidance, indeed, boosting the NIB share price 10.2% higher.
Though, the NIB share price handed back that gain in August on the release of the company's full-year results.
The Medibank share price's year was far less dramatic. And some brokers seemingly expect the gap between the two stocks' performance to close.
The Motley Fool Australia's Zach Bristow reported JP Morgan favoured Medibank's shares over those of NIB in January.
Additionally, Credit Suisse slapped Medibank's shares with a price target of $3.50 and a 'buy' rating, my colleague, Tristan Harrison, reported in March.
Finally, analysts at Morgans upgraded Medibank's stock to an 'add' with the expectation it will reach $3.43 in late February, according to reporting by James Mickleboro.
So far this year, the Medibank share price has slipped 8.45% while the ASX 200 has slumped 0.87%.
At the same time, the NIB share price has tumbled 10.44%.
