Short Interest in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Decreases By 15.3%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,500,000 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the October 15th total of 5,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Arch Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of Arch Capital Group stock opened at $101.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Arch Capital Group has a 12 month low of $72.85 and a 12 month high of $116.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.05. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 33.86% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arch Capital Group will post 9.02 EPS for the current year.

Arch Capital Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ACGL shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.94.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACGL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Arch Capital Group by 245.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,053,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $341,652,000 after buying an additional 2,168,897 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Arch Capital Group by 61.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,112,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $380,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,173 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Arch Capital Group in the third quarter valued at $82,748,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the third quarter valued at about $64,271,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Arch Capital Group by 18,634.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 551,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $616,840,000 after purchasing an additional 548,402 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Company Profile

Arch Capital Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance products worldwide. The company's Insurance segment offers primary and excess casualty coverages; loss sensitive primary casualty insurance programs; directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices and fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, and other financial related coverages; medical professional and general liability insurance coverages; and workers' compensation and umbrella liability, as well as commercial automobile and inland marine products.