Short Interest in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Decreases By 19.1%

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 583,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Down 0.9 %

Prosperity Bancshares stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.06. 656,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,208. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.21 and a 200 day moving average of $75.29. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $57.16 and a 1-year high of $86.76.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $306.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.17 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. Research analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 44.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.92, for a total value of $39,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 107,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,616,574.80. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $396,700 over the last 90 days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PB. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $372,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 5.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 40.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,411 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 9,935 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PB. UBS Group dropped their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.23.

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.