The Carlyle Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CG)

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 8,572 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 322% compared to the average volume of 2,031 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CG. Citigroup increased their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on The Carlyle Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on The Carlyle Group from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, TheStreet lowered The Carlyle Group from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.07.

The Carlyle Group Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CG traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.10. The company had a trading volume of 109,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.91. The Carlyle Group has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $48.52.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.08. The Carlyle Group had a positive return on equity of 19.74% and a negative net margin of 20.53%. The firm had revenue of $896.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Carlyle Group will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is -82.84%.

Insider Transactions at The Carlyle Group

In other news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. bought 190,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $2,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,066,189 shares in the company, valued at $13,807,147.55. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 27.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Carlyle Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Carlyle Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,410,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 347.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 111,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,556,000 after purchasing an additional 86,914 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,324,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,349,000. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.