BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Short Interest Update

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 209,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Institutional Trading of BrightSphere Investment Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 2,397.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 67.9% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in BrightSphere Investment Group in the third quarter worth approximately $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut BrightSphere Investment Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on BrightSphere Investment Group from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

BrightSphere Investment Group Stock Performance

NYSE BSIG opened at $26.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $982.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.98 and a 200 day moving average of $25.74. BrightSphere Investment Group has a one year low of $18.09 and a one year high of $31.52.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. BrightSphere Investment Group had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 7,606.72%. The firm had revenue of $123.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. BrightSphere Investment Group’s payout ratio is currently 2.42%.

About BrightSphere Investment Group

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries.