QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) shares fell over 2% in early trade on Friday, versus a 0.5% fall in the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
Why?
Unfortunately we will never know why investors sell on a day-to-day basis when there are no market sensitive announcements. Long-term investors in QBE will recognise that the stock is volatile, especially intra-day, where a swing of over 6% isn't that uncommon.
Today's fall could be as a result of a rise in the US dollar, which discounts the group's Australian-dollar denominated earnings that are reported in US dollars for the financial year, or could be due to a number of other factors.
What Now?
Investors in QBE should take nothing more than a cursory glance at today's fall. The QBE story hasn't changed since it reported a $1 billion turnaround in net profit for the financial year and I think it is on its way to delivering a solid, if not spectacular, 2015.
QBE is yielding around 3.5% currently, well below that of peers Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), but in two to three years' time could be yielding 6% when some underperforming business units are removed or fixed up.
The share price is already up 30% over the last three months and could be higher this time next year.
