Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 736,900 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 878,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 432,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total transaction of $540,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,428,175.77. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Everest Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Everest Group by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 439 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Everest Group by 15.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,605 shares of the company's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Everest Group by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Everest Group during the fourth quarter valued at $3,713,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Everest Group during the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.64% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Everest Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EG traded down $24.67 on Friday, reaching $337.09. 682,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,157. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company's 50 day moving average is $350.91 and its 200-day moving average is $365.60. Everest Group has a fifty-two week low of $327.37 and a fifty-two week high of $407.30.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.64 by ($30.03). Everest Group had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Everest Group will post 47.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Everest Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on EG. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Everest Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Everest Group from $461.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $340.00 price objective (down previously from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Everest Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $416.50.

About Everest Group

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.