Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Short Interest Up 35.9% in May

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,500 shares, a growth of 35.9% from the May 15th total of 9,200 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Hawthorn Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

Institutional Trading of Hawthorn Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 163.3% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 81,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,305,000 after buying an additional 50,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Hawthorn Bancshares by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HWBK traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,728. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.94. Hawthorn Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $35.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $18.76 million for the quarter.

Hawthorn Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Hawthorn Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is 29.09%.

Hawthorn Bancshares declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, June 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.