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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ACGL. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Arch Capital Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arch Capital Group currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $100.67.

Arch Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $94.41 on Wednesday. Arch Capital Group has a 12 month low of $69.05 and a 12 month high of $96.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.15 and its 200 day moving average is $84.77. The company has a market capitalization of $35.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.57.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.39. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 33.65% and a return on equity of 21.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arch Capital Group

In related news, CFO Francois Morin sold 25,689 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $2,247,016.83. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 221,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,399,009.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 60,000 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.52, for a total value of $5,251,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 651,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,057,001.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 25,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $2,247,016.83. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 221,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,399,009.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,872,217 in the last 90 days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 205,548 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,594 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 601.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 141,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,500,000 after buying an additional 121,206 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 209,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,672,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,030,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 205,698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,277,000 after purchasing an additional 46,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Arch Capital Group Company Profile

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.