Short Interest in Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:BHRB) Expands By 31.6%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 31.6% to 750,344 shares as of March 31, equal to about 5.6% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of 5.9 days based on average daily volume.
• Major institutions increased stakes recently — including Vanguard (now 779,800 shares, ~$48.6M) and Goldman Sachs (up 68.5% to 164,263 shares), signaling continued institutional ownership.
• Fundamentals show a market cap of about $990.99 million, P/E of 8.53, a recent quarterly EPS beat ($1.98 vs. $1.91), and a quarterly dividend of $0.55 ($2.20 annualized, 3.3% yield).

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:BHRB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 750,344 shares, a growth of 31.6% from the March 15th total of 570,340 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 128,178 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burke & Herbert Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 779,800 shares of the company's stock worth $48,589,000 after purchasing an additional 14,358 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 317,991 shares of the company's stock worth $19,814,000 after purchasing an additional 36,027 shares during the last quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA increased its holdings in Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 258,080 shares of the company's stock worth $15,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 164,263 shares of the company's stock worth $10,235,000 after purchasing an additional 66,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 125,323 shares of the company's stock worth $7,809,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHRB opened at $65.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $990.99 million, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Burke & Herbert Financial Services has a one year low of $48.73 and a one year high of $70.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.68.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $86.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.72 million. Burke & Herbert Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 23.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Burke & Herbert Financial Services will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Burke & Herbert Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 28.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BHRB shares. Zacks Research lowered Burke & Herbert Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Loop Capital set a $74.00 price objective on Burke & Herbert Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Freedom Capital lowered Burke & Herbert Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Burke & Herbert Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.40.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Company Profile

Burke & Herbert Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and the parent company of Burke & Herbert Bank. The company operates as a community‐focused financial institution, offering a full suite of commercial and consumer banking products to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The company’s core banking services include traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market and certificates of deposit, alongside digital banking platforms for online and mobile account access.

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