Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) experienced a 19.5% decrease in short interest in August, with 1,030,000 shares sold short as of August 31st.
• The company reported earnings of $0.12 per share for the last quarter, which exceeded expectations, alongside a notable revenue of $1.22 billion against projected figures of $604.62 million.
• The board announced an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.10 to $0.15 per share, representing a dividend yield of 3.4% and with a payout ratio of -146.34%.

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,030,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the August 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 689,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 689,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelis Insurance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooperman Leon G lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelis Insurance by 27.5% during the first quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 4,799,778 shares of the company's stock worth $77,756,000 after buying an additional 1,036,019 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Fidelis Insurance by 6.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,825,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,968,000 after acquiring an additional 248,141 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Fidelis Insurance by 4.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,386,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,866,000 after acquiring an additional 146,116 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Fidelis Insurance by 23.3% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,119,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,716,000 after acquiring an additional 589,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Fidelis Insurance by 12.2% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,303,167 shares of the company's stock worth $21,607,000 after purchasing an additional 142,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Fidelis Insurance Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE FIHL traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.62. The company had a trading volume of 851,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.98 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Fidelis Insurance has a 1-year low of $14.17 and a 1-year high of $21.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $16.67 and its 200-day moving average is $16.41.

Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.24. Fidelis Insurance had a negative return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 1.70%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.62 million. On average, analysts expect that Fidelis Insurance will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelis Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Fidelis Insurance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Fidelis Insurance's payout ratio is -146.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Fidelis Insurance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.67.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions.