Clearbridge Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 285,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,780,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.66% of Everest Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Everest Group during the 4th quarter valued at $328,064,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Everest Group during the 4th quarter valued at $202,271,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $173,587,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $168,328,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Everest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $165,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.64% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EG opened at $394.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $379.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $377.50. Everest Group, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $331.08 and a twelve month high of $417.92.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $16.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $15.98 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Everest Group had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 18.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 61.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Everest Group from $445.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup cut Everest Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $452.00 to $375.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Everest Group from $466.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Everest Group from $402.00 to $397.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.