KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Stake in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,307,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Everest Group by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 138,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,353,000 after buying an additional 35,904 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Everest Group by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Everest Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Everest Group by 268.7% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 12,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 9,124 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Everest Group by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.64% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Stock Performance

Shares of EG opened at $362.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $327.37 and a 12-month high of $407.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $351.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $366.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.61.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.64 by ($30.03). Everest Group had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 9.04%. Equities research analysts forecast that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on EG. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Everest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Everest Group from $461.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $340.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $416.50.

Insider Transactions at Everest Group

In other news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of Everest Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total transaction of $540,945.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,175.77. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Company Profile

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.