Ping An Insurance Shares Climb After 1Q Profit Gain

By Megan Cheah

Hong Kong-listed shares of Ping An Insurance rose, after the Chinese insurer posted robust operating profit for the first quarter amid market volatility.

The stock rose as much as 6.2% to 63.75 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$8.14, before paring gains to trade 5.25% higher. The shares appear on track for their largest one-day percentage gain since December.

Meanwhile, its Shanghai-listed stock was 1.5% higher at the midday break, after rising as much as 2.8% in morning trading.

The insurer's operating profit in the three months ended March 31 rose 7.6% from a year earlier to 40.78 billion yuan, equivalent to US$5.96 billion. Its new business value reached 15.57 billion yuan, gaining 21% year over year.

Ping An remains confident in its new business value and margin growth this year, as demand for health and protection products is likely to rise, said DBS Group Research analyst Ken Shih, who described the quarter's operating profit as robust.

Still, he flagged that higher equity-market volatility clouded the insurer's investment-income growth in the quarter, and could continue to weigh on earnings for 2026 and 2027.

DBS cut its target price for the stock to HK$83.50 from HK$85.00 on the expected decline in investment income. However, "given 38% share price upside and an attractive 5.4% yield, we reiterate buy on Ping An," said Shih.

Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2026 00:57 ET (04:57 GMT)