Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) to “Strong-Buy”

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) was upgraded by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GNW. Wall Street Zen raised Genworth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Genworth Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Genworth Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genworth Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Genworth Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GNW opened at $10.00 on Tuesday. Genworth Financial has a twelve month low of $7.84 and a twelve month high of $10.20. 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 company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.47 and its 200 day moving average is $8.93.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Genworth Financial had a return on equity of 1.06% and a net margin of 2.87%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Genworth Financial will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 92,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,013.60. The trade was a 35.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,368,883 shares in the company, valued at $49,769,545.41. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Genworth Financial by 12,597.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Genworth Financial during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Genworth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 124.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 3,966 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.