Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Bank Hapoalim experienced a 193.6% increase in short interest, rising to 1,917 shares as of March 31 (from 653 on March 15); based on average volume the days-to-cover is just 0.2 days and reported short interest rounded to 0.0% of shares.
• Barclays downgraded the stock from "strong-buy" to "Hold" in January, and the consensus analyst rating on MarketBeat is currently "Hold."
• The bank missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.41 vs. $2.92 expected (revenue $1.76 billion), though profitability metrics remain strong with a 15.44% ROE and a 22.63% net margin.

Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,917 shares, a growth of 193.6% from the March 15th total of 653 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,150 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays downgraded shares of Bank Hapoalim from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Hapoalim has an average rating of "Hold".

Bank Hapoalim Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS BKHYY opened at $131.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.20. Bank Hapoalim has a 12 month low of $69.10 and a 12 month high of $143.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.33.

Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The bank reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. Bank Hapoalim had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 22.63%.

About Bank Hapoalim

Bank Hapoalim B.M. is one of Israel's largest banking groups, providing a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional customers. Founded in 1921 by the Histadrut labor federation, the bank has developed into a full-service financial institution offering deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, credit cards, payment services, and branch-based retail banking. It also serves small and medium-sized enterprises with working capital and trade finance solutions.

In addition to traditional retail banking, Bank Hapoalim operates significant corporate and investment banking divisions.

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