Short Interest in APi Group Co. (NYSE:APG) Grows By 15.5%

APi Group Co. (NYSE:APG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, a growth of 15.5% from the November 30th total of 4,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

APi Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE APG traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $36.02. 1,002,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,676,175. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.51 and a 200 day moving average of $35.70. APi Group has a twelve month low of $30.26 and a twelve month high of $40.89. The company has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.28 and a beta of 1.55.

APi Group (NYSE:APG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. APi Group had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that APi Group will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of APi Group from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on APi Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of APi Group in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of APi Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of APi Group from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.43.

Insider Transactions at APi Group

In related news, Director James E. Lillie sold 11,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $427,784.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,134,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,958,802.30. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 53,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.87, for a total value of $1,986,113.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,478,779 shares in the company, valued at $202,002,581.73. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APi Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APG. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in APi Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 108,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in APi Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 20,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in APi Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 20,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in APi Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 57,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in APi Group by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.62% of the company’s stock.

APi Group Company Profile

APi Group Corporation provides safety and specialty services worldwide. It operates through Safety Services and Specialty Services segments. The Safety Services segment offers solutions focusing on end-to-end integrated occupancy systems, such as fire protection services; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions; and entry systems, which include the design, installation, inspection, and service of these integrated systems.