ORIX Co. (NYSE:IX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ORIX Co. (NYSE:IX) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 781,300 shares, an increase of 500.1% from the February 13th total of 130,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 189,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

ORIX Stock Up 0.5 %

ORIX stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,839. ORIX has a 52-week low of $18.11 and a 52-week high of $25.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.82, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.94.

ORIX (NYSE:IX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. ORIX had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 9.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ORIX will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ORIX

In related news, major shareholder Corp Orix sold 18,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.08, for a total transaction of $278,906,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,880,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,336,684.26. This trade represents a 55.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ORIX

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of ORIX in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,451,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in ORIX in the fourth quarter valued at $602,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of ORIX in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of ORIX by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,820,000 after buying an additional 10,176 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in ORIX in the 4th quarter valued at about $694,000. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised ORIX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st.

About ORIX

ORIX Corporation provides diversified financial services in Japan, the United States, Asia, Europe, Australasia, and the Middle East. The company's Corporate Financial Services and Maintenance Leasing segment is involved in the finance and fee; leasing and rental of automobiles, electronic measuring instruments, and ICT-related equipment businesses; and provision of life insurance and environment and energy-related products and services.