Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 123,900 shares, an increase of 163.6% from the February 29th total of 47,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other Hawthorn Bancshares news, Director Douglas Todd Eden purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $156,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 80,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,600. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan Holtaway purchased 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.12 per share, for a total transaction of $105,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 15,500 shares in the company, valued at $296,360. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 20,400 shares of company stock worth $426,846 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 265,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 6.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 217,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,754,000 after purchasing an additional 13,718 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 176,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 83,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 12.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 6,423 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Down 0.7 %

HWBK stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.36. The company had a trading volume of 702 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,359. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 1 year low of $15.02 and a 1 year high of $26.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $142.93 million, a P/E ratio of 154.78 and a beta of 0.47.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $18.00 million during the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 0.75% and a net margin of 0.96%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is 516.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides commercial and personal banking services. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts; and 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.