Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 37,175 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 84% compared to the average volume of 20,228 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sirius XM from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Sirius XM in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Sirius XM in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut Sirius XM to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Sirius XM in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.15.

Sirius XM Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:SIRI traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $26.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,770,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,834,940. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Sirius XM has a 12-month low of $19.76 and a 12-month high of $32.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.15 and a 200 day moving average of $27.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.98.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Sirius XM had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 10.23%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sirius XM will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sirius XM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Sirius XM’s payout ratio is currently 43.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sirius XM

In other news, Director Jonelle Procope sold 16,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $499,659.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,069.38. The trade was a 47.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sirius XM

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in Sirius XM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,243,000. Aspen Grove Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sirius XM during the 1st quarter valued at $2,277,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Sirius XM by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,177,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,263,000 after buying an additional 157,860 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Sirius XM by 262.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,301,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,426,000 after acquiring an additional 4,560,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Sirius XM by 858.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,076,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,872 shares in the last quarter. 10.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sirius XM Company Profile

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI) is an audio entertainment company that provides subscription-based satellite radio and streaming services in the United States and Canada. Its SiriusXM service offers commercial-free music, live sports, news, talk programming, comedy, entertainment, and exclusive original content through connected vehicles, the SiriusXM app, and other connected devices.

The company distributes SiriusXM primarily through automakers and vehicle dealers, as well as directly to consumers.