Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) Short Interest Down 16.7% in December

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500 shares, a drop of 16.7% from the December 15th total of 3,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 19,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westwood Holdings Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Institutional Trading of Westwood Holdings Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 243,897 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 5,793 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 85.4% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 116,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 53,870 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 459,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 13,012 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 584,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in Westwood Holdings Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 358,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 5,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.64% of the company’s stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Stock Performance

Shares of Westwood Holdings Group stock opened at $14.45 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.30 and a 200 day moving average of $14.14. The company has a market capitalization of $133.95 million, a P/E ratio of 43.79 and a beta of 1.13. Westwood Holdings Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.01 and a fifty-two week high of $18.03.

Westwood Holdings Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Westwood Holdings Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

Westwood Holdings Group Company Profile

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment.