Short Interest in Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) Grows By 32.1%

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:FIHL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, a growth of 32.1% from the December 31st total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 490,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately 5.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FIHL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Fidelis Insurance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fidelis Insurance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Fidelis Insurance in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fidelis Insurance from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIHL. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fidelis Insurance during the third quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelis Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,424,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Fidelis Insurance by 306.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 51,419 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Fidelis Insurance in the third quarter valued at $732,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelis Insurance during the 4th quarter worth about $1,008,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fidelis Insurance Price Performance

Shares of FIHL traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $16.76. 513,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 584,451. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.02. Fidelis Insurance has a 12-month low of $12.43 and a 12-month high of $21.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.53.

Fidelis Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Fidelis Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.10%.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions.