Short Interest in Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) Rises By 11.3%

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the September 15th total of 2,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 486,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Ambac Financial Group Price Performance

Ambac Financial Group stock remained flat at $11.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,188. Ambac Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $10.12 and a fifty-two week high of $18.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.44 million, a PE ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.23 and a 200 day moving average of $13.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:AMBC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Ambac Financial Group had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $105.00 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ambac Financial Group will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMBC. Roth Mkm raised Ambac Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kristi Ann Matus purchased 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.27 per share, for a total transaction of $30,429.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,429. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ambac Financial Group news, CFO David Trick purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.76 per share, for a total transaction of $39,812.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 156,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,679,442.32. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristi Ann Matus acquired 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.27 per share, with a total value of $30,429.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $30,429. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 37,500 shares of company stock worth $407,445. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambac Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 3.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,952,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,857,000 after acquiring an additional 87,077 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 797,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 127,145 shares in the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its holdings in Ambac Financial Group by 118.0% in the 1st quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 434,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,788,000 after purchasing an additional 235,058 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 397.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 345,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 276,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Ambac Financial Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 171,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.49% of the company’s stock.

Ambac Financial Group Company Profile

Ambac Financial Group, Inc operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks.