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

Key Points

• Genworth Financial received an upgrade from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a more favorable outlook for the company.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Genworth shares from $9.00 to $9.50, maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Insider trading activity revealed that CEO Rohit Gupta sold over 86,000 shares of the stock, indicating a decrease in personal ownership of about 9.81%.

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

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

Genworth Financial Price Performance

GNW stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,122,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,258,069. Genworth Financial has a 1-year low of $5.99 and a 1-year high of $8.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genworth Financial news, CEO Rohit Gupta sold 86,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.68, for a total value of $750,004.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 794,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,897,388.40. This trade 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 this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genworth Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Genworth Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 69.5% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 7,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Genworth Financial by 140.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4,708 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in Genworth Financial during the first quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Genworth Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors own 81.85% of the company's stock.

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.