Short Interest in OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) Expands By 39.0%

OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 811,800 shares, an increase of 39.0% from the February 28th total of 583,900 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 437,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OFG Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of OFG Bancorp by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of OFG Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of OFG Bancorp by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OFG Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in OFG Bancorp by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.73% of the company’s stock.

OFG Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

OFG stock opened at $40.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. OFG Bancorp has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $47.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.92 and its 200-day moving average is $42.73.

OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.12. OFG Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 22.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that OFG Bancorp will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OFG Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from OFG Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. OFG Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on OFG Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of OFG Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

About OFG Bancorp

OFG Bancorp, a financial holding company, provides a range of banking and financial services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Treasury. The company offers checking and savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts; certificate of deposits, as well as time deposit products; commercial, consumer, auto leasing, and mortgage lending services; credit cards; cash management; financial planning and insurance services; and corporate and individual trust, and retirement services.