Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Short Interest Down 15.3% in October

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,500,000 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the October 15th total of 5,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACGL. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 14.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Arch Capital Group by 6.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arch Capital Group by 16.4% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 204,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,860,000 after purchasing an additional 28,743 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,858,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,776,996,000 after purchasing an additional 104,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Arch Capital Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Arch Capital Group stock opened at $101.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.31. Arch Capital Group has a 1-year low of $72.85 and a 1-year high of $116.47.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 33.86% and a return on equity of 18.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group will post 9.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays initiated coverage on Arch Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.94.

About Arch Capital Group

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.