Ategrity Specialty (NYSE:ASIC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Six analysts rate Ategrity Specialty a consensus “Moderate Buy,” split evenly between buy and hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $28.50, with Wells Fargo raising its target to $30.
• Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations: Ategrity Specialty reported earnings of $0.67 per share, beating the $0.62 consensus estimate. The company posted a 19.75% net margin and 15.29% return on equity.
• Shares remain below their recent high: ASIC opened at $24.67, compared with a 52-week range of $16.35 to $26.00, while its market capitalization stood at approximately $1.19 billion.

Shares of Ategrity Specialty (NYSE:ASIC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ategrity Specialty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ategrity Specialty from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research cut Ategrity Specialty from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ategrity Specialty from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ategrity Specialty from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

Ategrity Specialty Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of ASIC stock opened at $24.67 on Thursday. Ategrity Specialty has a fifty-two week low of $16.35 and a fifty-two week high of $26.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion and a PE ratio of 13.27.

Ategrity Specialty (NYSE:ASIC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. Ategrity Specialty had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Equities analysts forecast that Ategrity Specialty will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ategrity Specialty

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASIC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Ategrity Specialty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Ategrity Specialty by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ategrity Specialty by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 153,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,866 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ategrity Specialty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ategrity Specialty by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares in the last quarter.

Ategrity Specialty Company Profile

We are a profitable and growing specialty insurance company dedicated to providing excess and surplus (“E&S”) products to small to medium-sized businesses (“SMBs”) across the United States. We have built a proprietary underwriting platform that combines sophisticated data analytics with automated and streamlined processes to efficiently serve our clients and deliver long-term value to our stockholders. The SMB market is characterized by large volumes of small-sized policies, and we believe our competitive edge lies in our ability to offer consistent, high-speed, and low-touch interactions that our distribution partners value.

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