Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Short Interest Up 20.4% in April

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, an increase of 20.4% from the March 31st total of 3,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ACGL shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut Arch Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Arch Capital Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.23.

Arch Capital Group Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $90.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.43. Arch Capital Group has a twelve month low of $69.05 and a twelve month high of $95.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The insurance provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.55. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 32.59% and a return on equity of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arch Capital Group will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arch Capital Group

In other news, insider Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.52, for a total transaction of $5,251,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 651,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,057,001.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.52, for a total transaction of $5,251,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 651,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,057,001.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 25,689 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $2,247,016.83. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 221,779 shares in the company, valued at $19,399,009.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,872,217. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Arch Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Arch Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Steward Financial Group LLC raised its position in Arch Capital Group by 180.7% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Arch Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.