Short Interest in Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) Rises By 26.6%

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,090,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the February 13th total of 2,440,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IBKR shares. Barclays increased their target price on Interactive Brokers Group from $224.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Interactive Brokers Group in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Interactive Brokers Group from $171.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Interactive Brokers Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Interactive Brokers Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.13.

Interactive Brokers Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ IBKR opened at $172.69 on Wednesday. Interactive Brokers Group has a fifty-two week low of $103.69 and a fifty-two week high of $236.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.07. The stock has a market cap of $72.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.22. Interactive Brokers Group had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Interactive Brokers Group will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Interactive Brokers Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Interactive Brokers Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.16%.

Insider Transactions at Interactive Brokers Group

In related news, Director Jill Bright bought 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $219.51 per share, for a total transaction of $29,633.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,506.76. The trade was a 5.77 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBKR. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Interactive Brokers Group by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Interactive Brokers Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Interactive Brokers Group Company Profile

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc operates as an automated electronic broker worldwide. The company engages in the execution, clearance, and settlement of trades in stocks, options, futures, foreign exchange instruments, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), precious metals, and cryptocurrencies.