Since Mr John Neal, CEO of global insurer QBE Insurance (ASX: QBE), updated the market last Tuesday on the progress of QBE's Global Operational Transformation Program, the share price has hardly looked back. Having closed prior to the presentation on Monday 1 July at $15.30, the share price has risen to $16.74 today. News that the cost-saving initiatives were on track to be delivered in full and on time was well received by investors.
The gain from pre-announcement to midday today is around 9%. The 1% rise in the share price today is especially positive given the 0.8% fall in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
Source: Google Finance
As the chart above shows, the market has liked what it heard during the presentation with QBE significantly outperformance both the S&P/ASX 200 Index and its peers Suncorp (ASX: SUN), Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) and AMP (ASX: AMP) over the past week.
Foolish takeaway
As the saying goes, patience can be a virtue. While the past 18 months have been unpleasant for QBE shareholders, the new management team appears to now have the company back on track and the market is starting to realise that.
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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur owns shares in QBE Insurance.
