Acadian Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:AAMI) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 58.0% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 58% in September to 1.69 million shares, representing about 6.2% of Acadian Asset Management’s outstanding stock and 3.8 days of average trading volume.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 98.69%, with Paulson, BlackRock and Azora Capital among investors establishing or expanding positions.
• Analysts maintain a largely neutral outlook: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $94, while shares recently traded at $93.12. The company also beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.33 per share versus the expected $1.03.

Acadian Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:AAMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,693,662 shares, an increase of 58.0% from the September 15th total of 1,071,734 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 447,445 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadian Asset Management

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAMI. Paulson & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Acadian Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth $417,912,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Acadian Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth $320,877,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Acadian Asset Management by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,022,207 shares of the company's stock worth $110,049,000 after acquiring an additional 112,985 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Acadian Asset Management during the second quarter valued at about $35,474,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Acadian Asset Management by 67.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 603,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,852,000 after acquiring an additional 244,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAMI has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Acadian Asset Management from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research lowered Acadian Asset Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Acadian Asset Management from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Acadian Asset Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $102.00 price target on Acadian Asset Management in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.00.

Acadian Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of AAMI traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.12. 50,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,259. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.42 and its 200-day moving average is $79.80. Acadian Asset Management has a 52 week low of $41.47 and a 52 week high of $98.52.

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.30. Acadian Asset Management had a return on equity of 189.32% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $183.20 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Acadian Asset Management will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acadian Asset Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Acadian Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.13%.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management is a global investment management firm that uses quantitative and systematic research to design and manage portfolios for institutional and intermediary clients. The company applies data-driven processes, technology and fundamental analysis to identify investment opportunities and manage risk across global markets.

Its offerings include actively managed strategies in global and emerging-market equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments.

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