The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,490,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 16,430,000 shares. Currently, 7.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet downgraded The Carlyle Group from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on The Carlyle Group from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.07.

The Carlyle Group Trading Down 0.5 %

CG stock opened at $45.06 on Wednesday. The Carlyle Group has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $48.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.84.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.08. The Carlyle Group had a positive return on equity of 19.74% and a negative net margin of 20.53%. The firm had revenue of $896.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Carlyle Group will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -82.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. purchased 190,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $2,460,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,066,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,807,147.55. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 27.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of The Carlyle Group in the 1st quarter worth about $7,631,000. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Carlyle Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Carlyle Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $194,000. Parkside Investments LLC purchased a new stake in The Carlyle Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $486,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.