Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) Stock

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $45.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SKWD. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Skyward Specialty Insurance Group from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.78.

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Stock Performance

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group stock opened at $45.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $29.40 and a 52 week high of $55.62.

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group had a return on equity of 16.39% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $300.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Skyward Specialty Insurance Group will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas N. Schmitt sold 637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.81, for a total transaction of $30,454.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $515,965.52. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Charles Hays sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 747,261 shares in the company, valued at $40,352,094. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,056 shares of company stock worth $2,086,938. Corporate insiders own 8.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,296,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,786,000 after purchasing an additional 12,484 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,528,000 after buying an additional 34,286 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Skyward Specialty Insurance Group by 16.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,117,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,506,000 after buying an additional 158,679 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Skyward Specialty Insurance Group by 9.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 919,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,269,000 after acquiring an additional 77,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in Skyward Specialty Insurance Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 874,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,622,000 after acquiring an additional 28,618 shares in the last quarter. 94.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, underwrites commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It offers general liability, excess liability, professional liability, commercial auto, group accident and health, property, surety, and workers' compensation insurance products.