Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $397.18.

EG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $340.00 price target (down previously from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Everest Group from $362.00 to $361.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Everest Group from $400.00 to $396.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Everest Group from $375.00 to $372.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Everest Group from $434.00 to $402.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Transactions at Everest Group

In other news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total transaction of $540,945.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,175.77. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Everest Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 92.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Everest Group Trading Up 1.3%

EG opened at $348.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $351.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.80. Everest Group has a one year low of $320.00 and a one year high of $407.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.46 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. Everest Group had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $16.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Everest Group will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Everest Group’s payout ratio is presently 41.15%.

About Everest Group

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.