FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - After a recent streak of strong gains, shares of Hannover Re came under pressure on Thursday despite solid business figures. In early Xetra trading, the stock fell by nearly two percent to 243 euros. Even with the world's third-largest reinsurer posting another record profit in 2025 despite the devastating wildfires in California, this was not enough to extend gains of up to 7.5 percent seen in recent days.
Prior to the recent recovery, falling prices during the contract renewal round at the turn of the year had put significant pressure on the European insurance sector as a whole. Now, the German reinsurer has provided further details, which, according to RBC analyst Ben Cohen, were broadly in line with expectations. However, he noted that the volume came in slightly below his forecasts.
The previous day, Hannover Re shares had responded positively to figures from French insurer Scor, so Thursday's performance was expected to be more subdued, the Canadian bank's expert commented. In his view, Hannover Re offers the best quality among European reinsurers. Nevertheless, he remains cautious due to the high valuation and a somewhat slowing growth in earnings per share.
The stock reached its record high in May of last year at 292.60 euros. The downward trend that followed remains intact and may only be broken if the price rises to the 263 to 264 euro range./ajx/tih/mis
