Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 45.9% to 149,296 shares as of March 13, equal to 1.4% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 2.0 days.
• Insiders were active: CEO Vito S. Pantilione bought 1,000 shares at $27.63 while a director sold 22,500 shares, and insiders have net sold 42,175 versus bought 1,700 shares in the last 90 days; institutional ownership is ~49.69% with Goldman Sachs up 228.3% to 105,700 shares.
• Parke declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 (annualized $0.72) for a 2.5% yield (ex-dividend Apr 2); the stock trades near $28.24, with a P/E of 8.94 and last quarter EPS of $0.93.

Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 149,296 shares, a growth of 45.9% from the February 26th total of 102,350 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 76,148 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Parke Bancorp news, CEO Vito S. Pantilione purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.63 per share, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 236,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,524,244.27. The trade was a 0.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Sheppard, Jr. sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.03, for a total transaction of $608,175.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,700 shares of company stock valued at $47,430 and have sold 42,175 shares valued at $1,161,181. 15.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKBK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Parke Bancorp by 228.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 105,700 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 73,505 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Parke Bancorp by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,443 shares of the bank's stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Parke Bancorp during the first quarter worth $229,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Parke Bancorp by 7.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 15,969 shares of the bank's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Parke Bancorp by 46.2% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 64,420 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 20,347 shares during the period. 49.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Parke Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ PKBK traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $28.24. 54,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 79,738. Parke Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $16.94 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $331.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.54.

Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $22.74 million for the quarter. Parke Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 25.86%.

Parke Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Parke Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Parke Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

About Parke Bancorp

Parke Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Parke Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients through a network of branches and ATMs, supported by secure online and mobile banking platforms.

Its product lineup includes deposit accounts—such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit—alongside a variety of lending solutions.

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