Insperity, Inc. (NYSE:NSP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Insperity, Inc. (NYSE:NSP) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the January 31st total of 1,890,000 shares. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 426,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Insperity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Insperity currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Insperity news, Director Ellen H. Masterson acquired 1,755 shares of Insperity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.75 per share, for a total transaction of $150,491.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,479. This represents a 11.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul J. Sarvadi sold 25,000 shares of Insperity stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.32, for a total transaction of $2,108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 436,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,812,762.88. This represents a 5.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NSP. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Insperity by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Insperity by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Insperity by 9.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Insperity by 32.6% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 70,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,173,000 after acquiring an additional 17,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Insperity by 9.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insperity Stock Up 4.6 %

Insperity stock opened at $90.57 on Friday. Insperity has a 1-year low of $68.79 and a 1-year high of $110.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.73.

Insperity Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Insperity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.59%.

About Insperity

Insperity, Inc engages in the provision of human resources (HR) and business solutions to improve business performance for small and medium-sized businesses primarily in the United States. It offers its HR services through its workforce optimization and workforce synchronization solutions that include a range of human resources functions, such as payroll and employment administration, employee benefits, workers' compensation, government compliance, performance management, and training and development services.