Sydney, Feb 23, 2026, 17:44 AEDT — After-hours
- Suncorp dropped 4.6% to finish at A$14.80, with shares trading ex-dividend on Monday.
- The insurer snapped up 376,757 shares on Feb. 20, spending A$5.83 million, according to a buyback filing.
- The dividend record date—Feb. 24—is on investors’ radar, along with how aggressively buybacks are tracking through FY26.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN.AX) dropped 4.6% Monday, finishing the session at A$14.80 after touching A$14.75 during the day. The stock closed out Friday at A$15.52. (Investing.com)
Suncorp shares have now gone ex-dividend, so fresh investors miss out on the interim payout. The company set Feb. 24 as the record date for its 17 Australian-cent dividend, which will be fully franked — that’s with attached Australian tax credits, according to an ASX filing. (Company Announcements)
Suncorp gave an update on its on-market buyback, disclosing in a filing that it picked up 376,757 shares on Feb. 20 for A$5.83 million, with prices ranging from A$15.13 to A$15.65. That brings the total so far to around 9.4 million shares repurchased, at a cost of roughly A$182 million since the buyback began. (Company Announcements)
The filing followed Suncorp’s half-year numbers last week, which once again highlighted weather’s impact. The insurer reported natural hazard costs running A$453 million over its allowance for the half. Still, its main catastrophe reinsurance policy is holding, with a A$260 million retention for the next major Australian event. “We continue to target around $400 million through this program by the end of FY26,” CEO Steve Johnston said.
Australian shares slipped in afternoon trading, the S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.62% by 2:20 p.m., according to Market Index. Real estate, healthcare, and tech stocks led the decline. (Market Index)
Suncorp shares tumbled 72 Australian cents—well past the interim dividend cut-off. That’s more than four times the actual payout, a far steeper drop than the dividend alone would explain.
The drop pushed shares below the price Suncorp paid in its Friday buyback—a gap that tends to rattle short-term investors. Buybacks may steady a stock, yet they can’t always keep the decline in check.
It all hinges on a quieter claims cycle. If storms hammer the sector again or reconstruction costs jump, profits take a hit—and management might have to dial back capital returns.
Focus shifts to SUN.AX as traders watch its moves around the dividend timeline and await fresh buyback details. Suncorp has its interim dividend slated for March 31. (suncorpgroup.com.au)
