Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Genworth Financial from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Genworth Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Genworth Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Genworth Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE GNW traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,818,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,826. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.76. Genworth Financial has a 52 week low of $7.13 and a 52 week high of $9.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 1.73%. Analysts anticipate that Genworth Financial will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total transaction of $456,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 92,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,013.60. This represents a 35.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,368,883 shares in the company, valued at $49,769,545.41. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genworth Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Genworth Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 9,781,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,323,000 after purchasing an additional 223,279 shares during the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its holdings in Genworth Financial by 168.0% in the 4th quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 6,485,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,568,000 after buying an additional 4,065,684 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Genworth Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,912,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Genworth Financial by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,386,000 after buying an additional 1,248,374 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 621.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,598,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,495,000 after buying an additional 3,099,582 shares during the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.