Short Interest in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) Expands By 43.2%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 43.2% in March to 2,132,863 shares (about 1.6% of the stock) with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.7, indicating increased bearish bets on FG.
• F&G missed quarterly earnings and revenue (EPS $0.91 vs. $1.34 expected; revenue $739M vs. $1.55B expected), prompting analyst downgrades and a consensus "Reduce" rating with a $30 target.
• The board authorized a $100M share repurchase (up to 3.1% of shares) and the company pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (3.8% yield), while insiders (including the CEO) recently bought shares.

F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,132,863 shares, an increase of 43.2% from the March 15th total of 1,489,790 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 796,096 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company's stock are sold short.

F&G Annuities & Life Price Performance

Shares of FG stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.26. 589,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 655,614. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.83 and a 200 day moving average of $28.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. F&G Annuities & Life has a 52-week low of $20.57 and a 52-week high of $36.70. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.28.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.43). F&G Annuities & Life had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 4.62%.The company had revenue of $739.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Research analysts anticipate that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

F&G Annuities & Life declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

F&G Annuities & Life Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. F&G Annuities & Life's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FG shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Celina J. Wang Doka bought 4,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,864.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,849.58. This represents a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $209,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,107,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,238,616.72. This represents a 0.91% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of F&G Annuities & Life

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FG. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the 4th quarter worth approximately $989,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in F&G Annuities & Life by 12,227.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 13,206 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in F&G Annuities & Life by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.86% of the company's stock.

About F&G Annuities & Life

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc NYSE: FG, a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.

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