Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Genworth Financial has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating bearish sentiment towards the stock's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has raised the target price for Genworth Financial from $9.00 to $9.50, maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• CEO Rohit Gupta recently sold 86,406 shares of Genworth, marking a significant decrease in his ownership position, which now totals approximately $6.9 million.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Genworth Financial from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Genworth Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Genworth Financial Trading Up 0.3%

GNW traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $8.60. The company had a trading volume of 4,289,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,953,583. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.94. Genworth Financial has a 1 year low of $5.99 and a 1 year high of $8.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $8.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 2.61% and a return on equity of 1.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genworth Financial

In related news, CEO Rohit Gupta sold 86,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.68, for a total transaction of $750,004.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 794,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,897,388.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Genworth Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNW. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Genworth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Genworth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Genworth Financial by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 430,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 109,570 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Genworth Financial by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 9,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 245,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 9,378 shares during the period. 81.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genworth Financial Company Profile

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.