SDF- Steadfast Group

 SDF Steadfast

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Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) has delivered strong top-line and profit growth over the past 5 years, driven by its aggressive acquisition-led strategy. However, this expansion has increased its debt load, and recent share price performance has lagged behind its

earnings trajectory. [1, 2, 3]

Financial Highlights (Trailing 12-Month Averages)

Profitability: Net income reached $355.5M, pushing profit margins to 16.13%.
Return on Equity (ROE): Strong operating performance has maintained an ROE of roughly 16.48%.
Debt: Total long-term debt has risen to $1.49B, with a manageable Debt/Equity ratio of \(0.76\).
Share Price: As of mid-2026, the share price trades near \(\$5.26\), roughly reflecting flat-to-negative capital returns over the last 12-24 months, despite solid double-digit annual EPS increases over the last 3-5 years. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8]

Key Drivers Over the 5-Year Period

Growth by Acquisition: Steadfast has consistently used debt and capital raises to acquire broker and agency networks. While this strategy is highly earnings-accretive, it has resulted in a balance sheet weighted with goodwill and intangible assets. [1, 2, 3]
Dividend Growth: Steadfast has a history of uninterrupted dividend increases, with a trailing dividend yield of \(\approx 3.78\%\). [1, 2]
Analyst Consensus: Market forecasts expect the company’s strong Insurance Intermediary revenue (which makes up over \(80\%\) of total income) to continue outperforming the broader Australian insurance industry.

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The 10-year historical mean Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio for Steadfast Group Limited (ASX: SDF) is 15.33. The stock currently trades at a trailing twelve months (TTM) P/E ratio of approximately 16.44. [1, 2]

10-Year Annual P/E Ratio Breakdown

The annual P/E ratios calculated at the end of each calendar year demonstrate the stock's valuation cycle over the last decade: [1]

Year	P/E Ratio	Year-over-Year Change
2025	20.6	-28.87%
2024	29.0	-8.68%
2023	31.7	+22.13%
2022	26.0	+19.96%
2021	21.7	-148.05%
2020	-45.1	-308.81%
2019	21.6	-1.84%
2018	22.0	-0.14%
2017	22.0	+51.64%
2016	14.5	-2.07%

Key Historical Milestones

10-Year Peak Valuation: The P/E ratio reached its recent multi-year high in June 2023 at 36.5 on a fiscal-year basis, driven by aggressive premium growth and broker network acquisitions. [1, 2]
10-Year Valuation Low: Outside of the 2020 reporting period where non-recurring items skewing GAAP earnings temporarily turned the ratio negative (-45.1), the low points of underlying valuation hovered around 14.5 in 2016. [1]
Peer Comparison Context: At its current range of ~16.4x, Steadfast is considered to be trading at a reasonable value compared to the broader ASX insurance broker peer average of 21.7x. [1]

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