AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Everest Group, Ltd. $EG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Everest Group, Ltd. by 5%, now owning 712,959 shares valued at $257.81 million.
• Everest Group recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $17.36, exceeding analyst estimates of $15.14, and revenue of $4.49 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.00 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.3% for shareholders.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 712,959 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,875 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.68% of Everest Group worth $257,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Everest Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,026,428,000 after acquiring an additional 17,346 shares during the last quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Everest Group by 35.8% in the first quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,328,732 shares of the company's stock worth $482,832,000 after purchasing an additional 350,019 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Everest Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 696,765 shares of the company's stock worth $253,150,000 after purchasing an additional 22,432 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Everest Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 682,979 shares of the company's stock worth $248,147,000 after purchasing an additional 66,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Everest Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 552,972 shares of the company's stock worth $200,911,000 after purchasing an additional 56,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EG. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $362.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $372.00 to $370.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Friday, June 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.14.

Everest Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Everest Group stock traded down $5.35 on Friday, hitting $339.91. 195,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,955. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $336.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $343.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 52 week low of $320.00 and a 52 week high of $407.30. The company has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.51.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $17.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $15.14 by $2.22. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Everest Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $16.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Everest Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.46%.

Insider Transactions at Everest Group

In other Everest Group news, CEO James Allan Williamson acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.97 per share, with a total value of $337,970.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,618 shares in the company, valued at $8,658,115.46. This represents a 4.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.