5,084,432 Shares in Genworth Financial, Inc. $GNW Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,084,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,912,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNW. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Genworth Financial by 621.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,598,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099,582 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Genworth Financial by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,374 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Genworth Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $5,616,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Genworth Financial by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,567,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,151,000 after purchasing an additional 704,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Genworth Financial by 722.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 561,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,000 after purchasing an additional 493,367 shares in the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GNW shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Genworth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Genworth Financial from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Genworth Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Genworth Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Genworth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GNW opened at $8.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.68. Genworth Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $6.75 and a one year high of $9.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Genworth Financial had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 1.73%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genworth Financial, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genworth Financial

In related news, CEO Thomas J. Mcinerney sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.27, for a total value of $927,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,368,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,769,545.41. This represents a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of Genworth Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total transaction of $456,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 92,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,013.60. The trade was a 35.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) is a leading financial security company offering a broad range of insurance products. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth provides individuals and families with solutions designed to protect against long-term care expenses, secure life insurance needs and support homeownership through private mortgage insurance. With operations spanning the United States, Canada and Australia, the company serves both retail and institutional clients through a diversified portfolio of risk management services.

The company’s Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) segment offers coverage to lenders and consumers in the US, Canada and Australia, enabling homebuyers to purchase properties with lower down payments.