StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) in a research report released on Sunday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Price Performance

Shares of WHG stock opened at $15.33 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.35 and a 200 day moving average of $12.83. Westwood Holdings Group has a 1-year low of $8.91 and a 1-year high of $16.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.42 million, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.15.

Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The asset manager reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group had a net margin of 7.63% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $22.69 million for the quarter.

Westwood Holdings Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Westwood Holdings Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westwood Holdings Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Westwood Holdings Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 459,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 13,012 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 458,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,643,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 353,837 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 243,897 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 5,793 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Westwood Holdings Group by 16.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 242,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,985,000 after buying an additional 34,697 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.64% of the company’s stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Company Profile

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment.