The Suncorp share price has dived 8% since ANZ's takeover bid. What's happening?

The Suncorp share price has struggled to keep up lately.

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Key points

  • The Suncorp share price has slipped 8% to $10.875 in the weeks since the company announced the sale of its Suncorp Bank business
  • Most of that fall came on the release of the company's full-year earnings 
  • Suncorp's profit fell 34% year-on-year in financial year 2022, weighed down by an abundance of hazardous weather events 

It's been close to eight weeks since the Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price launched 6% on news Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) plans to buy its banking business for $4.9 billion.

Unfortunately, it hasn't managed to keep a hold of those gains. In fact, the stock has tumbled 7.9% since. It's trading at $10.875 right now, 0.14% lower than its previous close.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lifted 0.46% today. It has also gained 2.9% since ANZ's planned acquisition of Suncorp Bank was announced.

So, what's been weighing the Suncorp share price down? Let's take a look.

What's dragging on the Suncorp share price?

There's been plenty going on with the Suncorp share price over the last few months.

Of course, the company announced the planned sale of Suncorp Bank on 18 July. And while the market bid the stock higher on the back of the sale, analysts had a far more reserved reaction.

Citi dubbed the sale "strategically sound" but didn't expect it to materially add to its estimated value of the company, my Fool colleague James reported early last month.

But the major blow to the Suncorp share price between then and now landed on the release of the company's full-year earnings.

It reported $16 billion of revenue for financial year 2022 – a 14% year-on-year improvement. However, its after-tax profit tumbled 34% to $681 million due to volatility in markets and higher natural hazard costs.

It surpassed its natural hazard allowance by more than $100 million in financial year 2022 as it pushed through 35 separate weather events and processed around 130,000 natural hazard claims.

The stock fell 4.6% when its results dropped on 8 August.

Despite its recent struggles, the Suncorp share price has outperformed over 2022 so far. It's slipped around 5.5% since the start of the year, while the ASX 200 has dumped 9%.

However, looking further back, its performance isn't nearly as strong. The stock has slipped 14% over the last 12 months while the index has fallen just 7%.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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