Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . 3,065,816 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 2,100,823 shares.The stock last traded at $99.9650 and had previously closed at $98.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ACGL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $126.00 price target on Arch Capital Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $102.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.11.

Arch Capital Group Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $34.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.76.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 17.06%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arch Capital Group

In other news, CFO Francois Morin sold 11,010 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.32, for a total value of $1,093,513.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 184,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,356,918.32. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arch Capital Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Arch Capital Group by 9,977.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 47,698,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,629,568,000 after purchasing an additional 47,224,669 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $463,208,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $368,808,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 319.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,626,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $252,084,000 after buying an additional 2,000,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 184.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,670,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $256,167,000 after buying an additional 1,730,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

About Arch Capital Group

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) is a Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company that underwrites a broad range of property and casualty, mortgage, and specialty risk products. The company operates through a group of underwriting subsidiaries and platforms to provide insurance, reinsurance and related risk solutions tailored to commercial, institutional and individual clients.

Arch’s product mix includes treaty and facultative reinsurance, primary casualty and property insurance, mortgage insurance and other specialty lines.