The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Short Interest Down 9.3% in August

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,000,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the August 15th total of 17,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 169,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.10, for a total transaction of $7,134,560.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,724,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,294,966.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,969,673 shares of company stock worth $71,897,412 in the last 90 days. 27.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tobam bought a new stake in The Carlyle Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 506.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in The Carlyle Group during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in The Carlyle Group during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in The Carlyle Group by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

The Carlyle Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CG traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $42.32. 1,838,875 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,295,162. The Carlyle Group has a 12 month low of $27.13 and a 12 month high of $50.92. The company has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a PE ratio of -23.91, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.90 and its 200-day moving average is $43.02.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The Carlyle Group had a positive return on equity of 24.30% and a negative net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $808.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 131.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Carlyle Group will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -78.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CG. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on The Carlyle Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on The Carlyle Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on The Carlyle Group from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.81.

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.