Short Interest in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Drops By 15.3%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,500,000 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the October 15th total of 5,310,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Arch Capital Group from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arch Capital Group from $126.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Arch Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.94.

Arch Capital Group Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $101.83 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Arch Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $72.85 and a fifty-two week high of $116.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last posted 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 net margin of 33.86% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arch Capital Group will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,830,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,208,307,000 after acquiring an additional 253,648 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arch Capital Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $450,000. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Arch Capital Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 83,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Arch Capital Group by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 37,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Arch Capital Group in the third quarter worth $17,338,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.