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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CG. UBS Group boosted their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Carlyle Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Carlyle Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.93.

The Carlyle Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CG traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 671,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,448. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.70. The Carlyle Group has a one year low of $36.65 and a one year high of $57.50. 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 Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 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, research analysts forecast that The Carlyle Group will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 482.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in The Carlyle Group by 68.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,919,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,651,000 after buying an additional 777,304 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 302,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,537 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC bought a new stake in The Carlyle Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,671,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 443.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 157,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 128,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.