Insperity, Inc. (NYSE:NSP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Insperity, Inc. (NYSE:NSP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the January 31st total of 1,890,000 shares. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 426,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Insperity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.67.

Insperity Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NSP opened at $86.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.72 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Insperity has a 52-week low of $68.79 and a 52-week high of $110.72.

Insperity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Insperity’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.59%.

Insider Transactions at Insperity

In other Insperity news, COO Arthur A. Arizpe sold 6,000 shares of Insperity stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total value of $508,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 72,551 shares in the company, valued at $6,143,618.68. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Paul J. Sarvadi sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.32, for a total transaction of $2,108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 436,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,812,762.88. The trade was a 5.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Insperity

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Insperity by 493.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Insperity during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Insperity in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Insperity by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Insperity by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

About Insperity

Insperity, Inc engages in the provision of human resources (HR) and business solutions to improve business performance for small and medium-sized businesses primarily in the United States. It offers its HR services through its workforce optimization and workforce synchronization solutions that include a range of human resources functions, such as payroll and employment administration, employee benefits, workers' compensation, government compliance, performance management, and training and development services.