Short Interest in Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS) Decreases By 5.3%

Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 486,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the January 15th total of 513,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 34,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 14.3 days. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William B. Roberts sold 15,000 shares of Consumer Portfolio Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.45, for a total transaction of $156,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 700,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,815.10. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP April Crisp sold 2,500 shares of Consumer Portfolio Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.15, for a total value of $27,875.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,212 shares in the company, valued at $191,913.80. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,775 shares of company stock valued at $481,069. 69.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consumer Portfolio Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPSS. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,309,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services in the third quarter worth approximately $960,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services in the third quarter worth approximately $445,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services by 620.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 25,124 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Consumer Portfolio Services by 297.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares in the last quarter. 47.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consumer Portfolio Services Price Performance

Consumer Portfolio Services stock opened at $11.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.15 and its 200 day moving average is $10.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.52, a current ratio of 19.17 and a quick ratio of 19.16. The firm has a market cap of $249.85 million, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.98. Consumer Portfolio Services has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Consumer Portfolio Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

About Consumer Portfolio Services

Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It is involved in the purchase and service of retail automobile contracts originated by franchised automobile dealers and select independent dealers in the sale of new and used automobiles, light trucks, and passenger vans.