The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Short Interest Down 6.5% in January

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,860,000 shares, a decrease of 6.5% from the January 15th total of 9,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of The Carlyle Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in The Carlyle Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 41,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in The Carlyle Group during the third quarter worth about $258,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 546,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,528,000 after buying an additional 55,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

The Carlyle Group Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of The Carlyle Group stock opened at $53.45 on Wednesday. The Carlyle Group has a twelve month low of $36.65 and a twelve month high of $57.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 184.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.70.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 24.91% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Carlyle Group will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 482.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CG shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Carlyle Group from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.93.

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.