Short Interest in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) Rises By 18.9%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,840,000 shares, a growth of 18.9% from the April 30th total of 3,230,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity at Arch Capital Group

In other news, CEO Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 7,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.48, for a total transaction of $706,177.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 795,718 shares in the company, valued at $73,588,000.64. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 12,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.58, for a total value of $1,194,545.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 274,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,979,328.98. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,976 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,038. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arch Capital Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACGL. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arch Capital Group during the 1st quarter worth about $306,000. Cim LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 11,373 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 40.6% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 4,580 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the first quarter worth $33,621,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in Arch Capital Group by 23.5% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACGL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Arch Capital Group Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ ACGL traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 711,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,704. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.02. Arch Capital Group has a 1-year low of $82.49 and a 1-year high of $116.47.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 24.73% and a return on equity of 17.96%. Arch Capital Group's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.