Short Interest in Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) Declines By 29.9%

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 890,700 shares, a decrease of 29.9% from the February 13th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 616,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Fidelis Insurance Price Performance

Shares of FIHL stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.59. 118,663 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 546,912. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.96 and a 200 day moving average of $17.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Fidelis Insurance has a 52-week low of $14.17 and a 52-week high of $21.32. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($1.98). Fidelis Insurance had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $685.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.52 million. Research analysts anticipate that Fidelis Insurance will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelis Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Fidelis Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Fidelis Insurance in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Fidelis Insurance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fidelis Insurance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelis Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Fidelis Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $31,991,000. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fidelis Insurance by 2,922.7% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 1,569,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,462,000 after buying an additional 1,517,927 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fidelis Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $24,435,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Fidelis Insurance by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,078,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,592,000 after buying an additional 1,332,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fidelis Insurance by 181.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 825,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,971,000 after buying an additional 532,110 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions.