Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Everest Group, Ltd. $EG

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) by 54.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 311,037 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,848 shares during the quarter. Everest Group comprises approximately 2.5% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Everest Group were worth $105,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Everest Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,026,428,000 after buying an additional 17,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Everest Group during the second quarter worth approximately $601,300,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Everest Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,211,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Everest Group by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 696,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,150,000 after acquiring an additional 22,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Everest Group by 10.7% during the first quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 682,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,147,000 after purchasing an additional 66,041 shares during the last quarter. 92.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Everest Group

In other Everest Group news, Director William F. Galtney, Jr. bought 11,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $307.38 per share, for a total transaction of $3,499,521.30. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,491 shares in the company, valued at $13,983,023.58. This trade represents a 33.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allan Levine acquired 3,100 shares of Everest Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $306.08 per share, with a total value of $948,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,271,150.24. This trade represents a 294.40% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Stock Performance

Everest Group stock opened at $310.04 on Friday. Everest Group, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $302.44 and a fifty-two week high of $375.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $330.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $335.61.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $7.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $13.39 by ($5.85). The company had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. Everest Group had a return on equity of 3.74% and a net margin of 3.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Everest Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $362.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Everest Group from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Everest Group in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.77.

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.