Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.03 Million Stake in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,123 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,021 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Everest Group worth $20,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EG. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Everest Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Everest Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Tsfg LLC bought a new position in shares of Everest Group during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Everest Group during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Everest Group by 79.1% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 154 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 92.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Everest Group from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Everest Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $376.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Friday, June 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $410.00 price objective (down previously from $420.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $394.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $400.83.

Insider Activity at Everest Group

In related news, CEO James Allan Williamson acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.97 per share, for a total transaction of $337,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,658,115.46. The trade was a 4.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Everest Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EG traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $339.18. The stock had a trading volume of 294,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,934. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $341.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.75. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $320.00 and a 1-year high of $407.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.46 by ($1.01). Everest Group had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $16.32 EPS. Everest Group's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Everest Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.15%.

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.