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

Key Points

• Short interest in Genworth fell about 13.4% to 6,688,740 shares as of March 31, equal to roughly 1.8% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.9.
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $10.50, even as some firms have recently downgraded the stock.
• Institutional investors own about 81.85% of GNW with major funds increasing stakes, while the company recently missed quarterly EPS expectations (reported $0.02 vs. $0.16 consensus).

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,688,740 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 7,723,706 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,460,578 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on GNW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "moderate buy" rating and issued a $10.50 price target on shares of Genworth Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genworth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Genworth Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genworth Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 26,493,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,793,000 after acquiring an additional 270,062 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 9,781,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,323,000 after acquiring an additional 223,279 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 7.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,567,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,151,000 after acquiring an additional 704,498 shares during the period. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 168.0% during the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 6,485,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,065,684 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,912,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.85% of the company's stock.

Genworth Financial Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:GNW traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,169,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,650,337. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 1.00. Genworth Financial has a 1-year low of $6.29 and a 1-year high of $9.28.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 1.48%.

Genworth Financial Company Profile

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.

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