Stock price when the opinion was issued
Everyone was shorting it in the 2000s, and now it's one of the most favoured stocks on the TSX. Up 13% YTD. He owns it in TFSAs. Helped by global acquisitions. Combined ratio ~94%. Underwriting has improved, costs kept in line. Almost every operation it has is showing profitability.
Estimated PE for this year is about 10x, normal for insurance industry. Has hit a high, but it's one you want to own for the long term. He continues to buy for clients.
A bit of a black box. Stock price has done very well the last few years, after having gone nowhere before that. Insurance at the core, and Prem Watsa's done a great job allocating those premiums. Higher rates favours insurers, lower rates the opposite, and he has no control over what the future holds.
If you own it, hold. You may want to investigate succession plans.
Just reported results yesterday and made a huge amount of money, almost $500 million. He likes Prem Watsa. Like everybody else, he is not perfect. Took his hedges off earlier this year. They are very diversified, not just in insurance, but are in India, Ireland, etc. Wouldn't say this was cheap by any metric. He owns the preferreds. Wouldn't be buying now.