Short Interest in ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Grows By 17.6%

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 550,200 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 467,900 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 32,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COFS shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Hovde Group started coverage on ChoiceOne Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on ChoiceOne Financial Services from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ChoiceOne Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $1,093,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 21.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 3,986 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $6,906,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $10,962,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services stock opened at $28.95 on Friday. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a one year low of $21.52 and a one year high of $38.15. The company has a market cap of $259.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.09.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 19.21%. On average, research analysts predict that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Company Profile

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services.