Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:KFS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:KFS) (TSE:KFS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 425,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the December 15th total of 398,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.7 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kingsway Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Kingsway Financial Services stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.13. The company had a trading volume of 19,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,247. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. Kingsway Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $7.60 and a fifty-two week high of $9.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kingsway Financial Services

In related news, Director Joseph Stilwell sold 365,000 shares of Kingsway Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $3,076,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 593,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,253.49. The trade was a 38.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 1,143 shares of company stock worth $10,011 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 54.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kingsway Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Kingsway Financial Services by 368.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 22,438 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Kingsway Financial Services by 325.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 13,975 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kingsway Financial Services by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 347,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kingsway Financial Services by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 151,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 6,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Kingsway Financial Services by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.38% of the company’s stock.

About Kingsway Financial Services

Kingsway Financial Services Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the extended warranty and business services in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Extended Warranty and Kingsway Search Xcelerator. The Extended Warranty segment markets, sells, and administers vehicle service agreements and related products for new and used automobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs.