The Carlyle Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CG)

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 6,629 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 280% compared to the typical volume of 1,746 call options.

The Carlyle Group Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of CG opened at $46.24 on Tuesday. The Carlyle Group has a 1-year low of $36.65 and a 1-year high of $57.50. The company has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.37.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 24.02%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Carlyle Group will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is 50.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,161,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,169,420,000 after acquiring an additional 180,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,778,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $998,609,000 after purchasing an additional 50,784 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 13,249,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,465 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in The Carlyle Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,102,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,687,000 after buying an additional 467,767 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 201.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,351,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,684,000 after buying an additional 4,244,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CG. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Carlyle Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on The Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.53.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.