Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Hawthorn Bancshares Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWBK opened at $29.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.60. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $34.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $204.18 million, a PE ratio of 32.46 and a beta of 0.58.

Insider Transactions at Hawthorn Bancshares

In related news, Director Frank E. Burkhead sold 3,000 shares of Hawthorn Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.87, for a total value of $95,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $365,771.99. The trade was a 20.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 1,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $32,733.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 390,004 shares in the company, valued at $12,577,629. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,457 shares of company stock worth $285,175 over the last three months. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWBK. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

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.