SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the February 28th total of 2,060,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 691,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SEIC. Piper Sandler increased their price target on SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on SEI Investments from $84.00 to $81.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of SEI Investments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.39, for a total value of $401,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $104,507. The trade was a 79.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $104,656.16. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 7,078,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,963,846.24. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,214 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,903 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SEI Investments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in SEI Investments by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in SEI Investments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in SEI Investments by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in SEI Investments in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

SEIC stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.81. 280,706 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,459. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.94. SEI Investments has a fifty-two week low of $62.38 and a fifty-two week high of $87.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.67.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.02). SEI Investments had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 25.51%. Research analysts anticipate that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

SEI Investments declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to purchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

SEI Investments Company Profile

SEI Investments Company is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides wealth management, retirement and investment solutions, asset management, asset administration, investment processing outsourcing solutions, financial services, and investment advisory services to its clients.