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

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the September 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 362,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Everest Group from $393.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Everest Group from $440.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Everest Group from $450.00 to $445.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $403.00 price target on shares of Everest Group in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $496.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Everest Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $439.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EG. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Everest Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Everest Group in the fourth quarter worth $195,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in Everest Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,312,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in Everest Group during the fourth quarter valued at $345,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Everest Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,040,000. 92.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Everest Group Price Performance

EG stock opened at $393.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 5.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $382.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $380.53. Everest Group has a one year low of $343.76 and a one year high of $417.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $16.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $16.97 by ($0.12). Everest Group had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 18.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $15.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Everest Group will post 61.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.89%.

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.