CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 48.0% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 48% to 229,473 shares as of September 15, representing 2.3% of COSO’s outstanding shares and 1.8 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to “buy,” while Zacks Research downgraded it to “strong sell.” The overall consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a $30 price target.
• COSO shares recently traded at $26.37, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.59—below the $0.61 consensus estimate—and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share.

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 229,473 shares, a growth of 48.0% from the August 31st total of 155,014 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 125,566 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CoastalSouth Bancshares news, Director Ernst Bruderer sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $54,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 41,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,128,223.33. The trade was a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 5,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,420 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoastalSouth Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COSO. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. boosted its holdings in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 61.2% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. now owns 1,159,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,505,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its holdings in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 329,743 shares of the company's stock worth $8,108,000 after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its holdings in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 320,982 shares of the company's stock worth $7,893,000 after purchasing an additional 57,082 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,643 shares of the company's stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $574,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on COSO. Weiss Ratings raised CoastalSouth Bancshares from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research cut CoastalSouth Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CoastalSouth Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:COSO traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.37. 104,762 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. CoastalSouth Bancshares has a twelve month low of $20.80 and a twelve month high of $28.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of -0.01. The business's fifty day moving average price is $27.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.28.

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $22.87 million during the quarter. CoastalSouth Bancshares had a net margin of 19.59% and a return on equity of 10.57%. On average, research analysts predict that CoastalSouth Bancshares will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. CoastalSouth Bancshares's payout ratio is 9.01%.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Company Profile

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank. The company provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations.

Coastal States Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other traditional financial services. Its activities are focused primarily on serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and retail customers.

The company is based in Savannah, Georgia, and serves communities in coastal Georgia and South Carolina through its banking offices and digital channels.

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