Short Interest in Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) Drops By 15.3%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 15.3% in March to 10,231,595 shares (about 0.6% of shares outstanding), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.0 days based on average daily volume.
• Institutional investors have been adding to positions—Vanguard now owns 52,859,085 shares—while company insiders sold about 400,000 shares over the past 90 days (including 60,200 shares by Vice Chairman Earl Nemser).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but favorable overall: seven Buys and three Holds give an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $79, and recent price-target moves range from $75 to $85.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,231,595 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the March 15th total of 12,075,322 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,143,916 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Interactive Brokers Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Interactive Brokers Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Interactive Brokers Group from $91.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Interactive Brokers Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Interactive Brokers Group from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Earl H. Nemser sold 60,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total value of $4,533,060.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 400,000 shares of company stock valued at $30,725,122. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interactive Brokers Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,859,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,637,234,000 after purchasing an additional 11,048,679 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,836,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,211,377,000 after purchasing an additional 187,763 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 12,759,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $820,589,000 after purchasing an additional 95,878 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,901,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,620 shares during the period. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 178.8% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 9,740,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $539,697,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246,715 shares during the period. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interactive Brokers Group Trading Up 2.9%

IBKR traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,484,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,722,758. Interactive Brokers Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.10 and a fifty-two week high of $82.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.43.

Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.15. Interactive Brokers Group had a return on equity of 5.12% and a net margin of 9.44%.The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Interactive Brokers Group will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interactive Brokers Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Interactive Brokers Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.48%.

About Interactive Brokers Group

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc NASDAQ: IBKR is a global electronic brokerage holding company that provides trading, clearing and custody services to retail traders, institutional investors, proprietary trading groups and financial advisors. The firm offers direct access to a wide range of asset classes, including equities, options, futures, foreign exchange, bonds and exchange-traded funds across many international markets. Interactive Brokers emphasizes electronic order execution, automated trading and low transaction costs as core differentiators for its clients.

Its product suite centers on advanced trading platforms and infrastructure.

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