Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Westwood Holdings Group Inc (NYSE:WHG)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.45 and traded as high as $19.75. Westwood Holdings Group shares last traded at $19.48, with a volume of 18,160 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WHG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Westwood Holdings Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westwood Holdings Group to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Westwood Holdings Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.47. The stock has a market cap of $187.09 million, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.56.

Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $25.34 million for the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 7.73%.

Westwood Holdings Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Westwood Holdings Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan M. Byrne sold 7,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $142,793.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,809,363.24. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,391 shares of company stock worth $978,545. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westwood Holdings Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group during the 1st quarter worth about $213,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 8.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,751 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Westwood Holdings Group during the first quarter worth about $366,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Westwood Holdings Group by 141.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 161,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 94,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Westwood Holdings Group by 1,277.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,537 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.64% of the company’s stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Company Profile

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc is an independent, publicly traded asset management firm founded in 1983 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company offers a range of investment advisory services tailored to institutional, retail, and high-net-worth clients. Westwood’s disciplined, value-oriented approach guides its research process across equity and fixed-income markets, with an emphasis on fundamental analysis and long-term risk management.

The firm’s product lineup includes U.S.