OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) Short Interest Down 17.0% in April

Key Points

• Short interest down 17% — As of April 15 short interest fell to 140,435 shares from 169,275 on March 31, representing 1.2% of shares and a short-interest ratio of 3.4 days.
• EPS beat but revenue missed — OP Bancorp reported $0.48 EPS vs. $0.41 expected, while revenue was $24.56M versus $25.37M expected, with a return on equity of 12.36% and net margin of 16.12%.
• Dividend increased — The quarterly dividend was raised to $0.14 per share (annualized $0.56) for a yield of 3.9%, with record date May 7 and payment on May 21.

OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 140,435 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 31st total of 169,275 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 41,144 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

OP Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

OP Bancorp stock opened at $14.30 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $13.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $212.98 million, a P/E ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.62. OP Bancorp has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $15.27.

OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $24.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.37 million. OP Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 16.12%. As a group, analysts expect that OP Bancorp will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

OP Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is an increase from OP Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. OP Bancorp's payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OP Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi bought a new position in OP Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of OP Bancorp by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,492 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of OP Bancorp by 6,423.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,675 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of OP Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of OP Bancorp by 880.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 5,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on OPBK shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of OP Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded OP Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded OP Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of OP Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.50.

About OP Bancorp

OP Bancorp is the bank holding company for Old Point National Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of businesses, professionals and individuals across the Hampton Roads and Virginia Peninsula regions. Core services include business lending, real estate financing, deposit accounts, cash management solutions and treasury services.

The company's lending portfolio spans commercial real estate loans, construction and land development financing, equipment loans and lines of credit tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises.

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