Investors Purchase Large Volume of Genworth Financial Call Options (NYSE:GNW)

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 4,943 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 258% compared to the typical volume of 1,382 call options.

Genworth Financial Price Performance

GNW traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.84. 12,902,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,129,791. 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 has a 52-week low of $5.95 and a 52-week high of $7.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.97.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 2.97% and a return on equity of 2.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genworth Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genworth Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $24,661,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Genworth Financial by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,567,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,538 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Genworth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,034,000. Boone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,741,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Genworth Financial by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,663,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,637 shares during the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNW has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Genworth Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $8.50 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Genworth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.