Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) Short Interest Up 21.4% in March

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 894,600 shares, an increase of 21.4% from the March 15th total of 736,900 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 439,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Everest Group

In related news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total value of $540,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,428,175.77. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Everest Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EG. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Everest Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Everest Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Everest Group by 79.1% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 154 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Everest Group in the third quarter valued at $64,000. 92.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Everest Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Everest Group from $434.00 to $402.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Everest Group from $370.00 to $362.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Everest Group from $470.00 to $394.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $340.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $396.00.

Everest Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE EG traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $356.68. The company had a trading volume of 393,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,956. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $351.31 and a 200 day moving average of $361.24. Everest Group has a 1-year low of $320.00 and a 1-year high of $407.30.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 7.95%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Everest Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.47%.

Everest Group Company Profile

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.