NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NMIH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NMIH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the April 30th total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 675,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider William J. Leatherberry sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total transaction of $466,227.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,824,585.76. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Owen Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total value of $731,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 84,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,093,424.28. This trade represents a 19.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,152 shares of company stock worth $3,358,017. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NMI

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NMIH. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in NMI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,886,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in NMI by 209.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,432,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,658,000 after acquiring an additional 970,551 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in NMI by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,034,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,341,000 after acquiring an additional 844,037 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NMI in the 4th quarter valued at $13,174,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in NMI in the 4th quarter valued at $13,136,000. 94.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NMI Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NMIH traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.36. 49,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,194. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.60. NMI has a fifty-two week low of $31.60 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49.

NMI (NASDAQ:NMIH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $173.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.04 million. NMI had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 55.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NMI will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NMIH shares. Wall Street Zen raised NMI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on NMI from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on NMI from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up from $34.00) on shares of NMI in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on NMI from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.29.

NMI Company Profile

NMI Holdings, Inc provides private mortgage guaranty insurance services in the United States. The company offers mortgage insurance services, such as primary and pool insurance; and outsourced loan review services to mortgage loan originators. It serves national and regional mortgage banks, money center banks, credit unions, community banks, builder-owned mortgage lenders, internet-sourced lenders, and other non-bank lenders.