SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the February 28th total of 2,060,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 691,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

Shares of SEIC traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.81. The company had a trading volume of 280,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,459. SEI Investments has a 1 year low of $62.38 and a 1 year high of $87.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.67.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.02). SEI Investments had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 27.35%. Equities analysts predict that SEI Investments will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 18th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to purchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEIC has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised SEI Investments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on SEI Investments from $84.00 to $81.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insider Transactions at SEI Investments

In other SEI Investments news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $104,656.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 7,078,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,963,846.24. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.39, for a total value of $401,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,507. This trade represents a 79.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,214 shares of company stock worth $6,293,903 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in SEI Investments by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of SEI Investments by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in SEI Investments by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in SEI Investments by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

SEI Investments Company Profile

SEI Investments Company is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides wealth management, retirement and investment solutions, asset management, asset administration, investment processing outsourcing solutions, financial services, and investment advisory services to its clients.