Short Interest in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Decreases By 6.6%

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,770,000 shares, a decline of 6.6% from the May 31st total of 17,950,000 shares. Approximately 8.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.8 days.

The Carlyle Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:CG opened at $40.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.90 and its 200 day moving average is $42.96. The Carlyle Group has a 12 month low of $27.13 and a 12 month high of $48.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of -22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.09. The Carlyle Group had a positive return on equity of 23.92% and a negative net margin of 23.04%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Carlyle Group will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -78.21%.

Insider Activity at The Carlyle Group

In other news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 64,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.23, for a total transaction of $2,585,300.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,395,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,687,861.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 645,335 shares of company stock worth $22,646,564 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,876,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,012,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756,189 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,053,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,687,000 after buying an additional 79,681 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Carlyle Group by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 11,819,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,448,000 after acquiring an additional 721,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $130,771,000. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $142,511,000. Institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CG shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Carlyle Group from $56.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of The Carlyle Group in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on The Carlyle Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

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.