Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Short Interest Down 16.8% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 16.8% in April to 4,884,743 shares, equal to about 5.0% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 4.6.
• Prosperity reported Q1 EPS of $1.50, beating estimates by $0.09, while revenue of $367.6M missed expectations but rose 19.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 (annualized $2.40), representing a 3.5% yield, and institutional investors own roughly 80.7% of the stock.

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,884,743 shares, a decline of 16.8% from the March 31st total of 5,868,183 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,072,385 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.62, for a total transaction of $43,572.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,050,040. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $838,102. Company insiders own 3.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 48.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,122,031 shares of the bank's stock worth $140,797,000 after acquiring an additional 695,114 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 231.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 53,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,575,000 after purchasing an additional 37,602 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 159,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,607,000 after purchasing an additional 48,943 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 634.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,371 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 14,141 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $1,488,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.3%

Prosperity Bancshares stock opened at $68.63 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares has a 52 week low of $61.06 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.23 and a 200-day moving average of $69.02.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $367.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.99 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 31.22% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prosperity Bancshares will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.31.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services.

Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence.

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