Goldman Sachs reassesses European insurers after 12-month rally

ASR Nederland NV

02/07/2025 09:59

** Goldman Sachs tempers its position on European insurers as a 12-month rally leaves them the second best performing sector on the STOXX 600 .STOXX index, trailing only their banking counterparts

** GS sees good reasons for the high valuation, such as robust dividend yields and recent inflows into European equities, but turns more selective against an uncertain macro backdrop

** It says recent market trends, such as pricing that remains ahead of inflation, point to further retail property & casualty (P&C) margin expansion

** It thus prefers retail P&C to commercial P&C or P&C reinsurance providers where pricing outlook seems more mixed

** GS calculates a bias for insurers it deems "PE Cheap", with positive ratings on five of the six names, including upgrades to "buy" for NN Group NN.AS and Admiral ADML.L

** Its "PE Mid" group shows a more balanced view, with an upgrade of Hiscox HSX.L to "buy" and a downgrade to "neutral" for L&G LGEN.L

** In the "PE Expensive" group, GS downgrades ASR ASRNL.AS to "neutral" and Zurich Insurance ZURN.S to "sell"

 (Reporting by Jakob Van Calster)

 ((jakob.vancalster@thomsonreuters.com))