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

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, an increase of 15.2% from the August 15th total of 989,400 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 306,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Everest Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,886,055,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Everest Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $751,457,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Everest Group by 29.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,197,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,750,000 after purchasing an additional 269,665 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $373,130,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Everest Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,032,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,395,000 after purchasing an additional 17,885 shares during the period. 92.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Everest Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Everest Group stock traded down $1.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $387.54. 219,457 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 326,170. The stock has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.76, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $380.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $379.51. Everest Group has a twelve month low of $343.76 and a twelve month 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $16.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $16.97 by ($0.12). Everest Group had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $15.21 earnings per share. Everest Group’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Everest Group will post 61.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Everest Group’s payout ratio is 11.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Everest Group from $419.00 to $405.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $527.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Everest Group from $454.00 to $438.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Everest Group from $450.00 to $445.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $470.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Everest Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.09.

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.