Short Interest in Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Expands By 19.6%

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,500 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the April 15th total of 4,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Investors Title in the 4th quarter worth about $707,000. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Investors Title in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Investors Title by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Investors Title during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new stake in Investors Title in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 41.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Investors Title Price Performance

Shares of ITIC stock traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $160.94. The stock had a trading volume of 5,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.57 million, a P/E ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.87. Investors Title has a 1 year low of $127.71 and a 1 year high of $171.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $159.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.53.

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Investors Title had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $53.68 million for the quarter.

Investors Title Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Investors Title's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ITIC shares. TheStreet raised shares of Investors Title from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investors Title from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th.

About Investors Title

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies.