Short Interest in Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) Rises By 11.3%

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the September 15th total of 2,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 486,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 7.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Ambac Financial Group

In other news, Director Kristi Ann Matus bought 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.27 per share, with a total value of $30,429.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $30,429. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ambac Financial Group news, CFO David Trick bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.76 per share, for a total transaction of $39,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,679,442.32. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kristi Ann Matus bought 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.27 per share, with a total value of $30,429.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,429. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $407,445. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambac Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in Ambac Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,149,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 397.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 345,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after buying an additional 276,210 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,952,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,857,000 after acquiring an additional 87,077 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 10,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Ambac Financial Group by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145 shares in the last quarter. 84.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambac Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:AMBC remained flat at $11.95 during trading hours on Thursday. 2,997 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,188. Ambac Financial Group has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $18.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $540.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.28.

Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:AMBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). Ambac Financial Group had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The firm had revenue of $105.00 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ambac Financial Group will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMBC. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Ambac Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Roth Capital upgraded Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

About Ambac Financial Group

Ambac Financial Group, Inc operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks.