Short Interest in James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:JRVR) Rises By 20.7%

James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:JRVR) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the December 15th total of 894,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 374,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of James River Group from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.40.

James River Group Stock Performance

Shares of JRVR traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 153,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,459. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. James River Group has a 1-year low of $4.35 and a 1-year high of $11.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.25. The stock has a market cap of $181.21 million, a P/E ratio of -1.18 and a beta of 0.06.

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The insurance provider reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.89). James River Group had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $191.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that James River Group will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

James River Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. James River Group’s payout ratio is -0.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of James River Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in James River Group in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in James River Group in the third quarter valued at about $122,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in James River Group during the third quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, BBR Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of James River Group in the third quarter worth about $219,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands.