Short Interest in Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) Drops By 29.9%

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 890,700 shares, a decline of 29.9% from the February 13th total of 1,270,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 616,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Fidelis Insurance Trading Up 3.0 %

FIHL stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $15.60. 581,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,642. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. Fidelis Insurance has a 52-week low of $14.17 and a 52-week high of $21.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day moving average of $17.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($1.98). Fidelis Insurance had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $685.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.52 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fidelis Insurance will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelis Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Fidelis Insurance’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FIHL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Fidelis Insurance in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelis Insurance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Fidelis Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth $1,144,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Fidelis Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth $6,424,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Fidelis Insurance by 306.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 51,419 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Fidelis Insurance in the third quarter valued at about $732,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Fidelis Insurance in the fourth quarter worth about $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions.