Short Interest in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Drops By 44.5%

UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a decrease of 44.5% from the January 31st total of 4,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 617,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised UMB Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on UMB Financial from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on UMB Financial in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on UMB Financial from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of UMB Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UMB Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.14.

UMB Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of UMBF stock opened at $108.66 on Tuesday. UMB Financial has a 1-year low of $76.00 and a 1-year high of $129.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.82.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 15.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UMB Financial will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.80%.

Insider Transactions at UMB Financial

In other UMB Financial news, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total transaction of $60,146.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,484,831.30. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total value of $380,135.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,313,427.67. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UMB Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMBF. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in UMB Financial by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in UMB Financial by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $83,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in UMB Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UMB Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

About UMB Financial

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.