Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

OSG has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Octave Specialty Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Octave Specialty Group in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.50.

Octave Specialty Group Stock Performance

Shares of Octave Specialty Group stock opened at $4.63 on Monday. Octave Specialty Group has a 1 year low of $3.88 and a 1 year high of $10.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.70 and its 200 day moving average is $5.14. The stock has a market cap of $208.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $83.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.79 million. Octave Specialty Group had a negative net margin of 51.10% and a positive return on equity of 0.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Octave Specialty Group will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Octave Specialty Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OSG. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Octave Specialty Group in the fourth quarter worth $14,696,000. RIHO Partners LLC bought a new position in Octave Specialty Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,542,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Octave Specialty Group by 805.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 227,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 202,568 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Octave Specialty Group in the second quarter worth about $842,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Octave Specialty Group by 133.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 89,360 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Octave Specialty Group

Octave Specialty Group, Inc is a specialty insurance platform that operates in the insurance distribution and underwriting market. The company works with insurance brokers, carriers and other industry partners to provide specialized coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses with complex or nonstandard insurance needs.

Its activities may include specialty brokerage, program management and other forms of insurance-related underwriting and placement services. These services are generally designed for risks that may require industry-specific expertise or customized coverage rather than standard commercial insurance products.

Publicly available information about Octave Specialty Group, including its specific product portfolio, operating subsidiaries, geographic footprint and leadership team, is limited.