Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,180,000 shares, a growth of 35.5% from the September 30th total of 5,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Genworth Financial Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:GNW traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,517,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,161,342. Genworth Financial has a one year low of $5.99 and a one year high of $9.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.68 and a 200 day moving average of $7.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Insider Activity at Genworth Financial

In other news, CEO Rohit Gupta sold 86,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.68, for a total value of $750,004.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 794,630 shares in the company, valued at $6,897,388.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Genworth Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 122,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Genworth Financial by 9.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Genworth Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Genworth Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Genworth Financial by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Genworth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genworth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Genworth Financial from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mortgage and long-term care insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Enact, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Life and Annuities. The Enact segment offers private mortgage insurance products primarily insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans; and pool mortgage insurance products.