Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,410,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the August 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Genworth Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Genworth Financial Stock Performance

Genworth Financial stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.76. 604,786 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,762,783. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.36. Genworth Financial has a twelve month low of $5.32 and a twelve month high of $7.01.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter. Genworth Financial had a return on equity of 0.25% and a net margin of 0.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.88, for a total transaction of $1,032,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,532,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,186,723.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genworth Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Genworth Financial in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genworth Financial by 72.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genworth Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Genworth Financial by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Genworth Financial in the first quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.85% of the company’s stock.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mortgage and long-term care insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Enact, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Life and Annuities. The Enact segment offers private mortgage insurance products primarily insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans; and pool mortgage insurance products.