Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,300 shares, an increase of 41.4% from the October 15th total of 18,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Investors Title Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITIC traded down $3.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $271.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,692. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $235.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.10. Investors Title has a 52 week low of $141.41 and a 52 week high of $283.27. The company has a market capitalization of $511.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 0.85.

Investors Title Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $14.46 per share. This is a positive change from Investors Title’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $57.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 21.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Investors Title’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investors Title

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Investors Title by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Investors Title by 4.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Investors Title by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,055,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Investors Title by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Investors Title during the 1st quarter worth about $1,648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Investors Title from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Investors Title Company Profile

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies.