Short Interest in Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSBI) Increases By 35.1%

Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSBI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 603,020 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the February 26th total of 446,225 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 114,615 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSBI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Midland States Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $25.50 price target on shares of Midland States Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Midland States Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Midland States Bancorp in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Midland States Bancorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Midland States Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.00.

Midland States Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSBI opened at $21.90 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Midland States Bancorp has a 52 week low of $14.24 and a 52 week high of $24.57. The firm has a market cap of $470.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.62.

Midland States Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSBI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.17). Midland States Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 6.62%.The company had revenue of $85.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.49 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Midland States Bancorp will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Midland States Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Midland States Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 126.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Kyle Owen Mooney sold 2,808 shares of Midland States Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.67, for a total transaction of $63,657.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 14,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,072.69. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSBI. Amundi lifted its position in Midland States Bancorp by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Midland States Bancorp by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Midland States Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Midland States Bancorp by 302.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Midland States Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. 60.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Midland States Bancorp Company Profile

Midland States Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, that oversees Midland States Bank, a community-focused financial institution. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services designed to meet the needs of individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Its branch network spans key markets in Illinois, Missouri and Florida, where it emphasizes relationship-driven banking and local decision-making.

The company’s offerings include traditional deposit accounts, business and commercial lending, treasury and cash management services, mortgage financing and home equity products.