American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL) Short Interest Update

American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the February 29th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 498,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 72,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 8,175 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 15,909 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,317,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $531,512,000 after buying an additional 49,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 72,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.98% of the company's stock.

American Equity Investment Life Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of American Equity Investment Life stock traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $55.91. 605,257 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. American Equity Investment Life has a 52 week low of $35.22 and a 52 week high of $56.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13 and a beta of 0.80.

American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.53 million. American Equity Investment Life had a return on equity of 25.15% and a net margin of 7.42%. American Equity Investment Life's quarterly revenue was up 61.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Equity Investment Life will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Equity Investment Life from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on American Equity Investment Life in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, American Equity Investment Life presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

About American Equity Investment Life

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, through its subsidiaries, provides life insurance products in the United States. The company issues fixed index and rate annuities, as well as single premium immediate annuities. It markets its products through independent agents, including independent marketing organizations, broker/dealers, banks, and registered investment advisors.