Securian Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,800 Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $328,064,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in Everest Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,587,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Everest Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $168,328,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,243,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,525,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.64% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Stock Performance

NYSE EG opened at $394.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a PE ratio of 5.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $377.50. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $331.08 and a 52-week high of $417.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $16.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $15.98 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Everest Group had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 18.69%. The company’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 61.65 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is a positive change from Everest Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Everest Group’s payout ratio is presently 10.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on EG. Citigroup cut Everest Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $452.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $466.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Everest Group from $445.00 to $457.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Everest Group from $402.00 to $397.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.11.

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.