James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:JRVR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:JRVR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the December 15th total of 894,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 374,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James River Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of James River Group by 232.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 171,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 119,901 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in James River Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in James River Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in James River Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 469,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,633,000 after purchasing an additional 132,300 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of James River Group by 7.9% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 275,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 20,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JMP Securities decreased their price target on shares of James River Group from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.40.

James River Group Stock Up 0.4 %

JRVR stock opened at $4.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $181.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.18 and a beta of 0.06. James River Group has a twelve month low of $4.35 and a twelve month high of $11.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The insurance provider reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.89). James River Group had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $191.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. James River Group’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that James River Group will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

James River Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. James River Group’s payout ratio is -0.99%.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands.