General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,300 shares, an increase of 104.8% from the February 13th total of 2,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 26,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Eugene S. Stark purchased 2,500 shares of General American Investors stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $62,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,500. This trade represents a 20.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Priest purchased 6,000 shares of General American Investors stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,392 shares in the company, valued at $384,800. This represents a 63.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $249,957. Corporate insiders own 8.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Saba Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in General American Investors by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,464,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $74,694,000 after buying an additional 437,632 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in General American Investors by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 5,581 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in General American Investors by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,011 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 7,492 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in General American Investors by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,841 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 2,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in General American Investors by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 36,230 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.85% of the company’s stock.

General American Investors Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of GAM traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,252. General American Investors has a 12-month low of $44.54 and a 12-month high of $55.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.74 and its 200 day moving average is $52.25.

General American Investors Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%.

General American Investors Company Profile

General American Investors Company, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm invests in the public equity markets of United States. It invests in growth stocks of companies. It makes investments in Information Technology, Financials, Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, Retailing, Communication Services, Industrials, Health Care, Energy and Materials.