Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) Rating Lowered to “Underperform” at BMO Capital Markets

Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $348.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Kinsale Capital Group from $422.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Kinsale Capital Group from $448.00 to $442.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Kinsale Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinsale Capital Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kinsale Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $441.91.

Kinsale Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNSL opened at $381.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $394.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.54. Kinsale Capital Group has a 12 month low of $341.06 and a 12 month high of $512.76.

Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $5.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.30 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $483.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $467.66 million. Kinsale Capital Group had a net margin of 26.87% and a return on equity of 25.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Kinsale Capital Group will post 17.72 EPS for the current year.

Kinsale Capital Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Kinsale Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KNSL. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kinsale Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,653,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Kinsale Capital Group by 117.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 987,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,366,000 after buying an additional 533,499 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kinsale Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at $107,916,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in shares of Kinsale Capital Group by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 614,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,401,000 after acquiring an additional 100,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kinsale Capital Group by 2,621.6% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 91,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,638,000 after acquiring an additional 87,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

About Kinsale Capital Group

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc (NYSE:KNSL) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 2009, the company focuses on underwriting complex and underserved risks across the United States. Kinsale operates through a network of wholesale brokers and independent agencies, offering tailored coverage solutions for a range of niche industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes general liability, business auto, professional liability, environmental liability, inland marine, cyber liability, and other specialty lines.