The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Short Interest Update

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,910,000 shares, a growth of 23.1% from the January 31st total of 8,860,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

The Carlyle Group Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of CG traded down $2.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.74. 2,421,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,257,460. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.05. The Carlyle Group has a 52-week low of $36.65 and a 52-week high of $57.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.70.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 18.81%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Carlyle Group will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of The Carlyle Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. American Trust raised its position in The Carlyle Group by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 5,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group during the 4th quarter worth $330,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breed s Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Carlyle Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CG. Wolfe Research raised shares of The Carlyle Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.93.

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.