ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,200 shares, a decline of 27.8% from the April 30th total of 16,900 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ECB Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in ECB Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ECB Bancorp by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 5,495 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC raised its position in ECB Bancorp by 37.0% in the first quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 49,940 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Close LLC raised its position in ECB Bancorp by 10.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Close LLC now owns 61,007 shares of the company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 6,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castalian Partners LLC acquired a new position in ECB Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,279,000. 30.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ECB Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:ECBK traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.63. 19,483 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,531. The company has a market capitalization of $141.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26 and a beta of 0.56. ECB Bancorp has a one year low of $12.15 and a one year high of $16.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ECB Bancorp had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 2.40%. The company had revenue of $6.92 million for the quarter.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts.