Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,970,000 shares, an increase of 40.7% from the March 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 647,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Prosperity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.62, for a total value of $31,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,541,090.30. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $390,340. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PB. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 4.9% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the bank's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the bank's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.8 %

PB stock opened at $67.93 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $57.16 and a 1-year high of $86.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.22.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. The business had revenue of $306.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $307.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Prosperity Bancshares's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.19%.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.

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