Our Investor Relations activities
In 2008 regular participation in investor conferences and roadshows – at which we have the opportunity to meet analysts and investors – as well as the holding of numerous telephone conferences once again formed the core areas of our Investor Relations work. Yet we are not the only ones to travel in our efforts to meet our investors and analysts; we also enjoy hosting them for personal discussions at Hannover Re's offices.
In the year under review, in view of the positive experience in past years, we again held our analysts' conferences marking the unveiling of the annual financial statements on the same day in Frankfurt and London. In this way we were able to brief the capital market on the outcome of the year just-ended as promptly as possible on a face-to-face basis.
Shareholding structure (in %)
Shareholding structure by countries (as % of free float)
Our annual Investors' Day is another highlight of our Investor Relations activities. In 2008 we held this event in London and were again pleased to welcome numerous financial analysts and investors. We use this gathering as an opportunity to provide our guests with firsthand insights from the Executive Board. Topics covered in the year under review included risk management as it relates to our non-life reinsurance business as well as explanations of our securitisation transactions, although a presentation on the growth potential inherent in life and health reinsurance was by no means neglected.
Excel download (29 KB)Analysts' opinions of the Hannover Re share
| Opinion | Number | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | 41 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
| Overweight | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| Hold | 67 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 20 |
| Underweight | 13 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Sell | 18 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Total | 140 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 37 |
Interest in our company among analysts remained lively in the year under review. According to Bloomberg and Reuters, analysts handed down altogether 140 opinions for Hannover Re in 2008. Despite the turmoil on stock markets they recommended the Hannover Re share as "buy" or "overweight" on forty-two occasions. The vast majority of opinions (67) were a "hold". Recommendations to "underweight" or "sell" were issued thirty-one times. At the outset of the new 2009 financial year the price target for our share – averaged across all analysts – was around EUR 23.