Short Interest in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Increases By 21.5%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,051,817 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the January 15th total of 5,804,460 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,595,739 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,595,739 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Arch Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $98.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.28 and a 200 day moving average of $92.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $35.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.42. Arch Capital Group has a 52 week low of $82.44 and a 52 week high of $103.39.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 22.07%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arch Capital Group will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACGL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research report on Friday. Evercore set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arch Capital Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $104.00 target price on shares of Arch Capital Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John M. Pasquesi sold 8,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.17, for a total transaction of $828,696.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 289,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,267,488.52. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total value of $756,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 266,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,233,356.22. This represents a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 268,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,287,645 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Arch Capital Group by 157.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 2nd quarter worth $253,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Arch Capital Group by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 33,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,992,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Arch Capital Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Arch Capital Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

About Arch Capital Group

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) is a Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company that underwrites a broad range of property and casualty, mortgage, and specialty risk products. The company operates through a group of underwriting subsidiaries and platforms to provide insurance, reinsurance and related risk solutions tailored to commercial, institutional and individual clients.

Arch’s product mix includes treaty and facultative reinsurance, primary casualty and property insurance, mortgage insurance and other specialty lines.