Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.69 and last traded at $9.5360, with a volume of 1928639 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GNW shares. Zacks Research raised Genworth Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Genworth Financial from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Genworth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Genworth Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.00.

Genworth Financial Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.10. Genworth Financial had a return on equity of 1.73% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Genworth Financial, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genworth Financial

In other news, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.27, for a total transaction of $927,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,368,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,769,545.41. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total transaction of $456,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 92,655 shares in the company, valued at $845,013.60. This represents a 35.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genworth Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNW. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Genworth Financial by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Genworth Financial by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 14,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in Genworth Financial by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Genworth Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 78,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Genworth Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 88,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genworth Financial Company Profile

Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) is a leading financial security company offering a broad range of insurance products. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth provides individuals and families with solutions designed to protect against long-term care expenses, secure life insurance needs and support homeownership through private mortgage insurance. With operations spanning the United States, Canada and Australia, the company serves both retail and institutional clients through a diversified portfolio of risk management services.

The company’s Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) segment offers coverage to lenders and consumers in the US, Canada and Australia, enabling homebuyers to purchase properties with lower down payments.