Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Genworth Financial from “sell” to “hold”, adding to a mixed but generally cautious analyst view of the stock.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $0.28 versus the $0.18 consensus, though revenue came in below forecasts at $1.04 billion.
• Genworth shares were trading at $9.14, near their 12-month high of $9.45, and the stock continues to attract heavy institutional ownership with 81.85% held by hedge funds and other investors.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

GNW has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Genworth Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "moderate buy" rating and issued a $10.50 target price on shares of Genworth Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Genworth Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GNW opened at $9.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.49 and a 200-day moving average of $8.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Genworth Financial has a 12 month low of $6.63 and a 12 month high of $9.45.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 1.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genworth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Genworth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,912,000. Gendell Jeffrey L increased its position in Genworth Financial by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 6,485,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,568,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065,684 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Genworth Financial by 621.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,598,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099,582 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Genworth Financial by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Genworth Financial by 173.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,188,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,649,000 after purchasing an additional 754,105 shares in the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Genworth Financial

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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