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

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the November 30th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 684,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

SEI Investments Trading Up 0.4 %

SEIC traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.93. 252,839 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 602,564. SEI Investments has a 52 week low of $61.58 and a 52 week high of $87.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.82 and a 200 day moving average of $72.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.98.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.12. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 26.60%. The company had revenue of $537.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that SEI Investments will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from SEI Investments’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. SEI Investments’s payout ratio is 23.67%.

SEI Investments announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SEI Investments

In other SEI Investments news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 19,010 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.49, for a total transaction of $1,568,134.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 7,377,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $608,570,469.94. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Peterson sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.59, for a total transaction of $1,864,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,835. This trade represents a 79.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 239,258 shares of company stock worth $19,753,402. Insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SEI Investments

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the second quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 101.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in SEI Investments by 925.9% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 554 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in SEI Investments during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in SEI Investments by 16.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SEIC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SEI Investments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.25.

About SEI Investments

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.