Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Short Interest Update

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,400 shares, a decrease of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 8,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hawthorn Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWBK opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.98 million, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.49. Hawthorn Bancshares has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $35.95.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 16.65%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frank E. Burkhead sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.87, for a total transaction of $95,610.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,771.99. The trade was a 20.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 2,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.91, for a total value of $88,264.62. Following the sale, the director now owns 366,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,064,740.18. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,690 shares of company stock valued at $446,810 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. now owns 15,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Hawthorn Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

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.