Short Interest in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Decreases By 6.5%

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in 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. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

The Carlyle Group Stock Up 1.5 %

The Carlyle Group stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $51.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,989,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,799,539. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.33. The company has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.70. The Carlyle Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that The Carlyle Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 482.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 7.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in The Carlyle Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 41,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in The Carlyle Group in the third quarter valued at $258,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 147.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 11.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 546,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,528,000 after buying an additional 55,364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.93.

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.