Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) Short Interest Up 5.6% in December

Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 611,600 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the December 15th total of 579,200 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 420,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Everest Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:EG traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $362.60. The company had a trading volume of 370,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $367.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $376.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.65. Everest Group has a 52 week low of $343.76 and a 52 week high of $407.30.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Everest Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Everest Group from $517.00 to $499.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Everest Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $420.00 to $429.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Everest Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Galtney, Jr. acquired 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $348.64 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,596.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,822 shares in the company, valued at $11,443,062.08. This represents a 9.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James Allan Williamson sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total transaction of $74,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,553,330. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Everest Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EG. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Everest Group by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,383,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Everest Group by 40.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Everest Group by 21.0% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Everest Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Everest Group by 27.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 92.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Everest Group

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.