Zacks Upgrades Everest Re To “Outperform”
Bermuda’s Everest Re Group was yesterday [Apr. 10] upgraded by Zacks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients, AnalystRatingsNetwork.com reports. The firm currently has a $153.00 price target on the stock.
Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “We are upgrading our recommendation on the shares of Everest Re to Outperform from Neutral on the back of strong underwriting perfromance shown by the company in the recent quarter. We remain optimistic about a favorable reinsurance market pricing, led by the last year’s cat loss events.
“The company, a big player in the reinsurance market, is likely to gain from any such developments going ahead. Further, Everest’s initiatives to aggressively expand in the international market are likely to contribute significantly to the overall top line. We believe that given its conservative financial leverage, the company will be able to maintain financial flexibility along with the ability to effectively manage its capital.
“However, lower reinvestment rates coupled with difficulties in managing reserves and exposure to catastrophe losses are certain headwinds to Everest Re’s earnings. “
Separately, analysts at Barclays Capital raised their price target on shares of Everest Re Group from $116.00 to $122.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 7th. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
Everest Re Group (has a market cap of $6.547 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09.
Everest Re Group last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 6. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion.
During the same quarter last year, the company posted [$0.94] earnings per share. Everest Re Group’s revenue was up 11.3 percent compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Everest Re Group will post $14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, is principally engaged in the underwriting of reinsurance and insurance in the United States, Bermuda and international markets.
