StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) in a research note published on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Stock Performance

NYSE WHG opened at $14.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $137.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.04. Westwood Holdings Group has a 52-week low of $9.17 and a 52-week high of $18.03.

Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The asset manager reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group had a return on equity of 3.26% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $22.69 million for the quarter.

Westwood Holdings Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Westwood Holdings Group’s dividend payout ratio is 181.82%.

Institutional Trading of Westwood Holdings Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in Westwood Holdings Group by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 116,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 53,870 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 16.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 242,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 34,697 shares in the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Westwood Holdings Group during the first quarter worth $144,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 584,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,294,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. 56.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westwood Holdings Group

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment.