Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) Short Interest Up 20.6% in March

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,450,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the February 28th total of 2,860,000 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 926,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Ambac Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AMBC traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.77. 223,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 629,644. The stock has a market cap of $359.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.88 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.20 and a 200-day moving average of $11.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Ambac Financial Group has a 52 week low of $7.77 and a 52 week high of $18.45.

Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:AMBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.18). Ambac Financial Group had a negative net margin of 6.28% and a positive return on equity of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $18.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.83 million. On average, analysts forecast that Ambac Financial Group will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ambac Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 47.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 7,644 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Ambac Financial Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 16,375 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 40.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 9,073 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 172,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 79.5% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 88,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 39,308 shares during the last quarter. 84.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ambac Financial Group

Ambac Financial Group, Inc operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks.