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

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,260,000 shares, an increase of 29.9% from the March 15th total of 2,510,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 721,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at SEI Investments

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

Institutional Trading of SEI Investments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SEI Investments by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in SEI Investments by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in SEI Investments by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in SEI Investments by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

Shares of SEIC stock opened at $71.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.90. SEI Investments has a 52 week low of $62.38 and a 52 week high of $87.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.89.

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

SEI Investments announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to reacquire up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded SEI Investments from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised shares of SEI Investments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on SEI Investments from $87.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded SEI Investments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.80.

SEI Investments Company Profile

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.