Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE:RE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE:RE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

According to Zacks, “Shares of Everest Re outperformed the industry year to date. Everest Re Group noted strong momentum across its underwriting operations, with opportunities in both reinsurance and insurance. The insurer has substantially benefited from its global presence, product diversification, capital adequacy, financial flexibility and traditional risk management capabilities. It is divesting underperforming business and strengthened reserves. Banking on favorable operational performance the company enjoys disciplined capital management strategy and strong capital balance position. However, a competitive reinsurance market and exposure to catastrophe events infusing underwriting volatility remain headwinds. With respect to quarterly results, Everest Re’s second-quarter bottom line beat expectation. Both segments exhibited increase in revenues. While expenses increased, combined ratio exhibited improvement, reflecting better underwriting results.”

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on RE. Wells Fargo & Company restated a hold rating on shares of Everest Re Group in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Barclays PLC raised their price objective on Everest Re Group from $269.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank AG reiterated a buy rating and issued a $262.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Everest Re Group in a research report on Saturday, April 29th. ValuEngine upgraded Everest Re Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded Everest Re Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $249.50.

Shares of Everest Re Group (NYSE RE) traded down 0.15% during trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 211,699 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.63. Everest Re Group has a 1-year low of $183.04 and a 1-year high of $277.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $260.59 and its 200-day moving average is $243.04.

Everest Re Group (NYSE:RE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $5.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.27. Everest Re Group had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 19.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Everest Re Group will post $21.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Everest Re Group by 23.1% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 447 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Everest Re Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Everest Re Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Everest Re Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Everest Re Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Everest Re Group

Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the underwriting of reinsurance and insurance in the United States, Bermuda and international markets. The Company operates in segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda and Insurance segment. The Company underwrites reinsurance both through brokers and directly with ceding companies.

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