Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.69 and last traded at $10.6050, with a volume of 317444 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GNW. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Genworth Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Genworth Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Genworth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Genworth Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genworth Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Genworth Financial Trading Up 4.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.07. 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 (NYSE:GNW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Genworth Financial had a return on equity of 1.06% and a net margin of 2.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Genworth Financial, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genworth Financial news, EVP Melissa Hagerman sold 14,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.91, for a total transaction of $145,756.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 192,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,061.49. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genworth Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GNW. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,906,000. Nuveen LLC increased its holdings in Genworth Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 9,781,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,323,000 after buying an additional 223,279 shares during the period. Gendell Jeffrey L increased its holdings in Genworth Financial by 168.0% during the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 6,485,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,568,000 after buying an additional 4,065,684 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Genworth Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,912,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Genworth Financial by 41.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,386,000 after buying an additional 1,248,374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.85% of the company’s stock.

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.