Short Interest in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Grows By 31.3%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,910,000 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the October 31st total of 4,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Arch Capital Group by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 608,467 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,595,000 after acquiring an additional 55,939 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 12.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,601 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 19.6% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,742,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the third quarter valued at $6,817,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the third quarter valued at $312,000. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $100.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $105.40 and its 200 day moving average is $103.37.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 33.86%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arch Capital Group from $118.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered Arch Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arch Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.38.

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.