Let's talk about the popular QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE). The company's shares received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the ASX in the over the last few months, increasing to $12.35 at one point, and dropping to the lows of $10.1. This high level of volatility gives investors the opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at an artificially low price. A question to answer is whether QBE's current trading price of $10.34 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at QBE’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. See our latest analysis for QBE

What is QBE worth?

The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to my valuation model. It’s trading around 9% above my intrinsic value, which means if you buy QBE today, you’d be paying a relatively fair price for it. And if you believe QBE’s true value is $9.5, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond what it’s currently trading. In addition to this, it seems like QBE’s share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s fairly valued. This is because QBE’s stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

What does the future of QBE look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares.Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with a negative profit growth of -0.84% expected over the next couple of years, near-term growth certainly doesn’t appear to be a driver for a buy decision for QBE. This certainty tips the risk-return scale towards higher risk.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? Currently, QBE appears to be trading around its fair value, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to de-risk your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock optimal for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on QBE, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on QBE for a while, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. The stock appears to be trading at fair value, which means there’s less benefit from mispricing. In addition to this, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven’t considered today, which can help crystalize your views on QBE should the price fluctuate below its true value.

Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on QBE Insurance Group. You can find everything you need to know about QBE in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in QBE Insurance Group, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.