Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Genworth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Insider Transactions at Genworth Financial

In other news, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 100,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,368,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,769,545.41. This represents a 1.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of Genworth Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total value of $456,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Genworth Financial by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 849,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,562,000 after acquiring an additional 127,722 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $32,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099,582 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Genworth Financial by 334.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 434,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 334,280 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,360,000. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Genworth Financial by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 589,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 247,601 shares in the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Genworth Financial

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.