Zacks Research Upgrades James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) to “Hold”

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JRVR. UBS Group cut James River Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $4.75 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded James River Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Citigroup cut James River Group from a “hold” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded James River Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of James River Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.44.

James River Group Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ JRVR opened at $4.56 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.73. James River Group has a 12 month low of $3.76 and a 12 month high of $7.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.85 million, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of -0.19.

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.15). James River Group had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The company had revenue of $151.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.07 million. Equities analysts expect that James River Group will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JRVR. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lifted its position in James River Group by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 434,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 118,657 shares in the last quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of James River Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $786,000. Enstar Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of James River Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,477,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in James River Group by 434.9% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,671,220 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,785 shares during the period. Finally, Flax Pond Capital LLC purchased a new stake in James River Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,427,000. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, underwrites property and casualty insurance products primarily in the program, wholesale broker and retail broker markets. The company focuses on specialty P&C lines, offering binding authority and delegated underwriting solutions for niche sectors including professional liability, environmental, real estate and other tailored commercial risks. Operating under the James River brand, it provides both admitted and non-admitted insurance across multiple states.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, James River Group has expanded through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.