Short Interest in BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Expands By 6.9%

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 209,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BrightSphere Investment Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 2,397.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in BrightSphere Investment Group in the second quarter worth about $147,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 67.9% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BSIG. StockNews.com raised shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on BrightSphere Investment Group from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded BrightSphere Investment Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

BrightSphere Investment Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BSIG stock opened at $26.34 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.74. BrightSphere Investment Group has a 52 week low of $18.09 and a 52 week high of $31.52. The stock has a market cap of $982.96 million, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.45.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $123.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.95 million. BrightSphere Investment Group had a return on equity of 7,606.72% and a net margin of 13.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. BrightSphere Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.42%.

BrightSphere Investment Group Company Profile

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries.