Northrim BanCorp Inc (NASDAQ:NRIM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 25.5% in March to 566,084 shares (about 2.7% of shares short) and a days-to-cover of 3.3, indicating increased bearish positioning.
• Northrim posted a quarterly earnings miss ($0.54 vs. $0.64 expected) with revenue of $51.66M, trades near $24.29 with a P/E of 8.48, and pays a $0.16 quarterly dividend (2.6% yield).
• CEO Michael Huston recently bought shares and institutional ownership is high (~66%), while analysts carry a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $33 price target.

Northrim BanCorp Inc (NASDAQ:NRIM - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 566,084 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the March 15th total of 450,911 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 171,247 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Northrim BanCorp Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:NRIM traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.29. The company had a trading volume of 37,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,247. The firm has a market capitalization of $537.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.32. Northrim BanCorp has a 12-month low of $17.85 and a 12-month high of $30.82.

Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ:NRIM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.10). Northrim BanCorp had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $51.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrim BanCorp will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrim BanCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Northrim BanCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.30%.

Insider Transactions at Northrim BanCorp

In other news, CEO Michael G. Huston purchased 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,898,145.60. This represents a 1.83% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 2,790 shares of company stock worth $64,179. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrim BanCorp by 326.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,639,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,870 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 248.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,166,000 after acquiring an additional 960,299 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 344.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 665,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,423,000 after acquiring an additional 516,030 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 1,148.3% in the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 247,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,361,000 after acquiring an additional 227,669 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrim BanCorp by 239.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 302,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,545,000 after buying an additional 213,238 shares during the period. 65.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NRIM shares. Zacks Research cut Northrim BanCorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrim BanCorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Northrim BanCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrim BanCorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

About Northrim BanCorp

Northrim BanCorp is the bank holding company for Northrim Bank, a community bank headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. The company offers a comprehensive suite of personal and commercial banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and treasury and cash management solutions.

With branches located across Alaska's major population centers—such as Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau—Northrim serves both urban and rural communities.

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