Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) achieved a new 52-week high, trading at $9.13 and showing a slight increase of 0.5%.
• Several analysts have recently updated their ratings, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "hold" to "sell," while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased the price target from $9.00 to $9.50.
• CEO Rohit Gupta sold over 86,000 shares of the company's stock, reflecting a 9.81% decrease in his ownership, as institutional investors are also actively trading Genworth Financial shares.

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.11 and last traded at $9.13, with a volume of 99473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Genworth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Genworth Financial from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Genworth Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Genworth Financial Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $8.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genworth Financial news, CEO Rohit Gupta sold 86,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.68, for a total transaction of $750,004.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 794,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,897,388.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Genworth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Genworth Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Genworth Financial by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 23,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Genworth Financial by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Genworth Financial by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 7,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the period. 81.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Genworth Financial

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.

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