Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 135,800 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the March 15th total of 123,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawthorn Bancshares

In related news, Director Douglas Todd Eden acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 80,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,600. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 80,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,785,600. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan L. States acquired 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,884.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,210.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 20,400 shares of company stock worth $426,846. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 13,475.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 174.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 1,356.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 4,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hawthorn Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWBK traded down $0.04 on Monday, hitting $21.16. 5,884 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $21.24 and its 200 day moving average is $21.29. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52 week low of $15.02 and a 52 week high of $26.00. The company has a market capitalization of $148.54 million, a PE ratio of 160.86 and a beta of 0.46.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $18.00 million for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 0.75% and a net margin of 0.96%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hawthorn Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 516.95%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.