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

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the February 28th total of 2,060,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 691,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SEIC. Morgan Stanley raised shares of SEI Investments from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded SEI Investments from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.40.

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SEI Investments Stock Performance

Shares of SEIC stock traded down $1.17 on Monday, hitting $67.85. 1,304,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,243. SEI Investments has a twelve month low of $62.38 and a twelve month high of $87.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.90.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 25.51%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at SEI Investments

In related news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of SEI Investments 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 7,078,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,963,846.24. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.39, for a total value of $401,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $104,507. This trade represents 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. Corporate insiders own 14.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SEI Investments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEIC. King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in SEI Investments in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of SEI Investments by 1.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $267,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SEI Investments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $863,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of SEI Investments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,818,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company's stock.

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.