Short Interest in Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Decreases By 25.8%

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,000 shares, a decrease of 25.8% from the February 13th total of 22,900 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Investors Title from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investors Title

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Investors Title by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,260 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Investors Title by 3.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Investors Title by 127.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Investors Title by 65.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Investors Title by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. 41.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Investors Title Trading Up 1.9 %

ITIC stock traded up $4.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.32. 7,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,147. The company has a market capitalization of $454.65 million, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.97. Investors Title has a twelve month low of $146.41 and a twelve month high of $290.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.79.

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $4.41 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $70.63 million for the quarter. Investors Title had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 11.84%.

Investors Title Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. Investors Title’s payout ratio is 11.20%.

Investors Title Company Profile

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies.