Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Short Interest Up 29.9% in August

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,090,000 shares, a growth of 29.9% from the July 31st total of 4,690,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Maamoun Rajeh sold 10,000 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.15, for a total value of $941,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 433,589 shares in the company, valued at $40,822,404.35. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,414,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,861,845,000 after buying an additional 493,583 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Arch Capital Group by 1.7% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 23,833,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,170,021,000 after acquiring an additional 408,950 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,502,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $952,523,000 after purchasing an additional 115,465 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,830,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,956,000 after purchasing an additional 359,710 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,005,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $481,457,000 after purchasing an additional 144,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACGL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arch Capital Group from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arch Capital Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Arch Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.27.

Arch Capital Group Price Performance

ACGL opened at $89.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.51. Arch Capital Group has a 1 year low of $82.49 and a 1 year high of $116.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.34.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 19.49%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.