International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:IGIC) Short Interest Up 24.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 24.3% in March to 213,361 shares (about 0.6% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 3.4 days as of March 13.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: IGIC reported $0.80 EPS vs. $0.72 consensus and $126.4M revenue vs. $116.4M, with a 24.61% net margin and 16.98% return on equity.
• Dividend announced: an annual $1.15 dividend was declared, payable April 6 to shareholders of record on March 18 (ex-dividend March 18); the dividend payout ratio is 6.97%.

International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:IGIC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 213,361 shares, a growth of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 171,634 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 61,883 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International General Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in International General Insurance by 4.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in International General Insurance by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,135 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in International General Insurance by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,559 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in International General Insurance by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 396,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in International General Insurance by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.24% of the company's stock.

International General Insurance Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ IGIC traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.78. 48,359 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,616. International General Insurance has a 1 year low of $20.82 and a 1 year high of $26.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a 200 day moving average of $23.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.15.

International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $126.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.40 million. International General Insurance had a net margin of 24.61% and a return on equity of 16.98%. On average, equities analysts forecast that International General Insurance will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

International General Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a yield of 497.0%. International General Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IGIC. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of International General Insurance in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of International General Insurance in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $28.00.

International General Insurance Company Profile

International General Insurance NASDAQ: IGIC is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on underwriting a diverse portfolio of property and casualty risks. Headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda, the company provides tailored risk solutions across a broad range of industry sectors. IGIC operates within the excess and surplus lines market, leveraging specialized expertise to cover complex and hard-to-place risks that fall outside the scope of standard commercial insurance.

Founded in 1988, IGIC has grown its product offering to include marine, energy, aviation, construction, professional liability and credit & surety lines.

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