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

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

Arch Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ACGL opened at $100.72 on Friday. Arch Capital Group has a 12 month low of $72.85 and a 12 month high of $116.47. The firm has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.35.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.05. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 33.86%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arch Capital Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 12.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Arch Capital Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 3,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 50.7% during the second quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 309 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 10,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $118.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arch Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.38.

About Arch Capital Group

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.