World Acceptance Co. (NASDAQ:WRLD) Short Interest Update

World Acceptance Co. (NASDAQ:WRLD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 363,300 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the December 31st total of 422,700 shares. Currently, 7.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 21,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 17.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded World Acceptance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens assumed coverage on World Acceptance in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Luke J. Umstetter sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,248 shares in the company, valued at $2,287,200. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 43.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRLD. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of World Acceptance during the second quarter worth $372,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of World Acceptance by 4.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of World Acceptance by 88.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 8,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of World Acceptance by 38.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,002,000 after buying an additional 11,135 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of World Acceptance by 125.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 22,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,741,000 after buying an additional 12,333 shares during the period. 83.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

World Acceptance Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of World Acceptance stock opened at $143.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $824.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.44. World Acceptance has a fifty-two week low of $101.85 and a fifty-two week high of $161.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 19.53 and a current ratio of 19.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.53 and a 200 day moving average of $118.67.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The credit services provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $1.22. World Acceptance had a return on equity of 19.85% and a net margin of 15.02%. As a group, research analysts predict that World Acceptance will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current year.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships.