The Carlyle Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CG)

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 6,629 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 280% compared to the typical volume of 1,746 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price target on The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered The Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut The Carlyle Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 149.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 253.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Carlyle Group Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of CG traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.94. 163,935 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,302,670. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The Carlyle Group has a 1-year low of $36.65 and a 1-year high of $57.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.05 and a 200-day moving average of $49.31.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 24.02%. Analysts expect that The Carlyle Group will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.36%.

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.