Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ACGL. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $119.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.53.

Arch Capital Group Price Performance

ACGL stock opened at $107.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.66. Arch Capital Group has a 12-month low of $72.85 and a 12-month high of $116.47.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 35.19%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Arch Capital Group will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Francois Morin sold 11,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.46, for a total transaction of $1,174,191.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 221,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,723,476.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arch Capital Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 61.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,112,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $380,167,000 after buying an additional 1,560,173 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Arch Capital Group by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,800,236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $628,614,000 after acquiring an additional 693,608 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,119,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,139,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $114,962,000 after purchasing an additional 423,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 385.0% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 398,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,873,000 after purchasing an additional 316,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

About Arch Capital Group

Arch Capital Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance products worldwide. The company's Insurance segment offers primary and excess casualty coverages; loss sensitive primary casualty insurance programs; directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices and fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, and other financial related coverages; medical professional and general liability insurance coverages; and workers' compensation and umbrella liability, as well as commercial automobile and inland marine products.