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

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 2.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 668,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SEIC shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James upgraded SEI Investments from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

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SEI Investments Trading Down 0.2 %

SEIC stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.84. 3,108,780 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 611,335. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.90.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SEI Investments will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 18th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SEI Investments

In related news, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.39, for a total transaction of $401,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $104,507. This represents a 79.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $104,656.16. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 7,078,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,963,846.24. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,214 shares of company stock worth $6,293,903 in the last three months. 14.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SEI Investments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SEIC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in SEI Investments by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,580,737 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $212,589,000 after buying an additional 60,307 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,306,329 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $107,746,000 after acquiring an additional 20,020 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in SEI Investments by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,233,225 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $101,716,000 after purchasing an additional 348,112 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in SEI Investments by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,171,743 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $96,645,000 after purchasing an additional 46,425 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in SEI Investments by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,068,181 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $88,104,000 after purchasing an additional 184,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.59% of the company's stock.

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.