Carlyle Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CG)

Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 201,222 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 6,333% compared to the average volume of 3,128 call options.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

CG traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.02. 3,948,295 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,356,010. Carlyle Group has a one year low of $39.60 and a one year high of $69.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $750.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 13.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Carlyle Group will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CG. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Carlyle Group by 937.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 51,809 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Carlyle Group by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,144,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,909,000 after buying an additional 332,533 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Carlyle Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 27.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carlyle Group by 755.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CG. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Carlyle Group from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Carlyle Group from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Carlyle Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra downgraded shares of Carlyle Group to a “sell” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

About Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager that invests across a range of strategies including private equity, real assets (such as real estate and infrastructure), global credit, and investment solutions. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Carlyle raises and manages investment funds that acquire, operate and exit companies and assets on behalf of institutional and private investors. The firm is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange and operates as an asset manager and investment advisor rather than as an operating company.

Carlyle’s core activities include sourcing and executing private equity buyouts and growth investments, originating and managing credit and financing solutions, and acquiring and operating real asset portfolios.