Short Interest in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Rises By 29.6%

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the February 13th total of 1,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 668,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

SEI Investments Stock Down 0.1 %

SEIC traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.91. The company had a trading volume of 471,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,876. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.94. SEI Investments has a 52 week low of $62.38 and a 52 week high of $87.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.88.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.02). SEI Investments had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 27.35%. Research analysts predict that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at SEI Investments

In other SEI Investments news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $104,656.16. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 7,078,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,963,846.24. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.39, for a total transaction of $401,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $104,507. The trade was a 79.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,214 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,903 over the last 90 days. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SEI Investments

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in SEI Investments by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in SEI Investments by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in SEI Investments in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SEI Investments during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SEIC shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of SEI Investments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on SEI Investments from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SEI Investments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.00.

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.