American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,230,000 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the February 28th total of 13,160,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American International Group from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of American International Group to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American International Group from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American International Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on American International Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.76.

American International Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIG traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.77. 4,942,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,374,298. The stock has a market cap of $52.08 billion, a PE ratio of -42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.15. American International Group has a one year low of $69.00 and a one year high of $88.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.03). American International Group had a negative net margin of 4.25% and a positive return on equity of 8.01%. As a group, analysts predict that American International Group will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American International Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. American International Group’s payout ratio is -76.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American International Group

In related news, Director John G. Rice purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $770,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in American International Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,890,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,540,050,000 after purchasing an additional 482,724 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of American International Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,805,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,951,427,000 after buying an additional 1,791,964 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,147,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,029,905,000 after acquiring an additional 461,912 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in American International Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,446,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $760,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in American International Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $718,013,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About American International Group

American International Group, Inc offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers’ compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance.