Everest Group (NYSE:EG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after UBS Group upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $388.89, but opened at $400.73. Everest Group shares last traded at $391.80, with a volume of 74,866 shares.

EG has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $403.00 price objective on shares of Everest Group in a report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Everest Group from $440.00 to $457.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Everest Group from $393.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $439.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Everest Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Everest Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Everest Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Everest Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Everest Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 638 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Everest Group by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 92.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Everest Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $380.69.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $16.85 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 in the previous year, the company posted $15.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 61.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.00 dividend. 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 11.81%.

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.