Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Grows Stock Position in MBIA, Inc. $MBI

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its stake in MBIA, Inc. by 60.6%, acquiring 288,129 shares worth approximately $1.435 million in the first quarter of this year.
• Other investors, including Aquatic Capital Management LLC and ProShare Advisors LLC, also made new investments in MBIA during the fourth quarter, showing a trend of significant interest from hedge funds and institutional investors, which now own 60.95% of the stock.
• Analyst firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target for MBIA shares from $9.00 to $8.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MBIA, Inc. (NYSE:MBI - Free Report) by 60.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 288,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,776 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.57% of MBIA worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MBI. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP bought a new position in MBIA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,608,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in MBIA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,058,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in MBIA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $731,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in MBIA by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 380,182 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 125,039 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in MBIA by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 796,560 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MBI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MBIA from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MBIA from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $8.00.

MBIA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MBI traded up $0.2070 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.6570. 394,541 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 584,949. The company's 50 day moving average is $5.16 and its 200 day moving average is $5.14. MBIA, Inc. has a one year low of $3.22 and a one year high of $7.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.60 million, a PE ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 1.85.

About MBIA

MBIA Inc provides financial guarantee insurance services to public finance markets in the United States. It operates United States (U.S.) Public Finance Insurance, and International and Structured Finance Insurance segments. The company issues financial guarantees for municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and taxable indebtedness of the U.S.