Tiptree (NASDAQ:TIPT) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Tiptree (NASDAQ:TIPT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Tiptree Price Performance

Tiptree stock opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $705.81 million, a P/E ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 1.30. Tiptree has a 12-month low of $14.30 and a 12-month high of $20.80.

Tiptree (NASDAQ:TIPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $498.22 million during the quarter. Tiptree had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.49%.

Tiptree Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Tiptree’s payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tiptree news, CEO Jonathan Ilany purchased 1,550 shares of Tiptree stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $27,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,360,367.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 31.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tiptree

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tiptree in the fourth quarter valued at $14,894,000. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Tiptree in the 1st quarter worth $3,427,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Tiptree by 538.6% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 156,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 131,871 shares during the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Tiptree by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 395,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,501,000 after acquiring an additional 41,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tiptree in the second quarter worth about $495,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.78% of the company’s stock.

About Tiptree

Tiptree Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance products and related services primarily in the United States. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Mortgage. The company offers niche; commercial lines insurance products, including professional liability, general liability, contractual liability protection, property and other short-tail, and alternative risks insurance products; and personal lines insurance products, such as credit protection surrounding loan payments.