TPG Inc. (NASDAQ:TPG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

TPG Inc. (NASDAQ:TPG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,100,000 shares, an increase of 26.3% from the February 28th total of 4,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

TPG Price Performance

TPG stock opened at $47.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.90 and its 200 day moving average is $61.88. TPG has a 52 week low of $39.18 and a 52 week high of $72.98.

TPG (NASDAQ:TPG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. TPG had a return on equity of 24.66% and a net margin of 0.67%. Research analysts predict that TPG will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

TPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from TPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TPG’s dividend payout ratio is presently -481.82%.

Insider Activity at TPG

In related news, General Counsel Bradford Berenson sold 2,509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total transaction of $125,550.36. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 290,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,553,683.64. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $104,937.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $980,716.31. This represents a 9.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TPG

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TPG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TPG by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,266,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,438,000 after purchasing an additional 162,107 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in TPG by 484.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,065,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,625,000 after buying an additional 2,541,013 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of TPG by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,656,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,921,000 after buying an additional 244,373 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of TPG by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,253,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,584,000 after buying an additional 683,572 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TPG by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,243,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,001,000 after buying an additional 898,943 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on TPG from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TPG from $60.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of TPG in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of TPG from $78.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on TPG from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.18.

About TPG

TPG Inc operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States and internationally. The company offers investment management services to TPG Funds, limited partners, and other vehicles. It also offers monitoring services to portfolio companies; advisory, debt and equity arrangement, and underwriting and placement services; and capital structuring and other advisory services to portfolio companies.