Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,390,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,960,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Arch Capital Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Arch Capital Group by 41.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 188.1% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ACGL shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Arch Capital Group from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arch Capital Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.38.

Arch Capital Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Arch Capital Group stock opened at $91.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.62. Arch Capital Group has a 1 year low of $74.28 and a 1 year high of $116.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.05. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 33.86%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Arch Capital Group will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th.

About Arch Capital Group

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.