Short Interest in Kingstone Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:KINS) Expands By 19.4%

Kingstone Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:KINS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 773,400 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the December 15th total of 647,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 300,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 8.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Kingstone Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Kingstone Companies Price Performance

Shares of KINS stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $15.37. 331,100 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,594. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.99 and a 200 day moving average of $10.73. The stock has a market cap of $189.82 million, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Kingstone Companies has a 12 month low of $2.40 and a 12 month high of $18.08.

Kingstone Companies (NASDAQ:KINS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Kingstone Companies had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kingstone Companies will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kingstone Companies news, Director William L. Yankus sold 10,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.18, for a total transaction of $165,893.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 91,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,874.12. This represents a 10.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carla D’andre bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.98 per share, with a total value of $43,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kingstone Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KINS. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kingstone Companies by 5.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 369,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 19,201 shares in the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in Kingstone Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,658,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kingstone Companies in the third quarter valued at about $1,184,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kingstone Companies by 7.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 109,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kingstone Companies by 14.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 12,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.91% of the company’s stock.

Kingstone Companies Company Profile

Kingstone Companies, Inc, through its subsidiary, provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals in the United States. It offers personal line of insurance products, such as homeowners and dwelling fire, cooperative/condominiums, renters, and personal umbrella policies. The company also provides for-hire vehicle physical damage only policies for livery and car service vehicles and taxicabs; and canine legal liability policies.