Zacks Research Downgrades Slide Insurance (NASDAQ:SLDE) to Hold

Slide Insurance (NASDAQ:SLDE) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SLDE. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Slide Insurance from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Texas Capital raised Slide Insurance to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Slide Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Slide Insurance from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Slide Insurance from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.40.

Slide Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of Slide Insurance stock opened at $18.87 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion and a PE ratio of 7.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Slide Insurance has a 52 week low of $12.53 and a 52 week high of $25.90.

Slide Insurance (NASDAQ:SLDE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $389.28 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Slide Insurance will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Slide Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Shannon Lucas sold 11,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $228,265.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,370,898 shares in the company, valued at $26,801,055.90. This represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Paul Larson sold 11,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.39, for a total value of $218,137.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,662.50. This trade represents a 56.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,059,578 shares of company stock worth $56,002,750 in the last three months.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Slide Insurance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLDE. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Slide Insurance by 3,462.2% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Slide Insurance in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Slide Insurance in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Slide Insurance in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Slide Insurance by 4,839.2% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares during the last quarter.

About Slide Insurance

Launched in 2021, we are a technology enabled, fast-growing, coastal specialty insurer. We focus on profitable underwriting of single family and condominium policies in the property and casualty (“P&C”) industry in coastal states along the Atlantic seaboard through our insurance subsidiary, Slide Insurance Company (“SIC”). We utilize our differentiated technology and data-driven approach to focus on market opportunities that are underserved by other insurance companies. We acquire policies both from inorganic block acquisitions and subsequent renewals, as well as new business sales through a combination of independent agents and our direct-to-consumer(“DTC”) channel, through which we sell our insurance products directly to end consumers, without the use of retailers, brokers, agents or other intermediaries.