Short Interest in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:ARGO) Drops By 5.1%

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:ARGO – Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 270,800 shares, a decrease of 5.1% from the December 15th total of 285,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 184,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Argo Group International in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argo Group International by 2,751.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Argo Group International in the third quarter worth about $443,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Argo Group International by 121.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 45,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 24,877 shares during the period. Voce Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Argo Group International by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Voce Capital Management LLC now owns 3,317,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,290,000 after buying an additional 44,000 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Argo Group International by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management Inc. now owns 475,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,529,000 after buying an additional 171,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Argo Group International Price Performance

Argo Group International stock opened at $27.30 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $957.14 million, a P/E ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 0.99. Argo Group International has a 1-year low of $19.00 and a 1-year high of $59.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.13) by $2.57. The company had revenue of $489.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $505.60 million. Argo Group International had a positive return on equity of 2.59% and a negative net margin of 9.58%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Argo Group International will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argo Group International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 29th. Argo Group International’s payout ratio is -22.42%.

About Argo Group International

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Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty markets. The company operates in two segments, U.S. Operations and International Operations. It offers primary and excess specialty casualty, general liability, commercial multi-peril, and workers compensation, as well as product, environmental, and auto liability insurance products; management liability, transaction liability, and errors and omissions liability insurance; primary and excess property, inland marine, and auto physical damage insurance; and surety, animal mortality, and ocean marine insurance products.