Short Interest in Grupo Cibest S.A. - Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CIB) Declines By 40.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in Grupo Cibest fell sharply in June, dropping 40.5% to 539,891 shares as of June 30 from 907,587 shares two weeks earlier. That leaves only about 0.2% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of 1.1 days.
• Analysts remain cautious but have lifted price targets, with multiple firms issuing or maintaining neutral/hold views and several raising targets. The consensus price target is $72.20, and the stock’s average rating is “Reduce.”
• The company recently increased its dividend to $1.304 per share quarterly from $1.22, equal to a 6.5% annualized yield. However, its latest earnings missed estimates on both EPS and revenue.

Grupo Cibest S.A. - Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CIB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 539,891 shares, a drop of 40.5% from the June 15th total of 907,587 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 491,342 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Grupo Cibest from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Grupo Cibest from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Grupo Cibest from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Grupo Cibest from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Grupo Cibest from a "strong sell" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Grupo Cibest currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Cibest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Grupo Cibest by 527.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 316,877 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,738,000 after purchasing an additional 266,341 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Grupo Cibest by 62.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 142,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,709,000 after buying an additional 54,497 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Grupo Cibest by 288.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 40,269 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 29,902 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Cibest during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $349,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Grupo Cibest by 158.7% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 254,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,746,000 after acquiring an additional 155,985 shares during the period.

Grupo Cibest Trading Down 2.3%

Grupo Cibest stock traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,076. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Grupo Cibest has a 12 month low of $43.20 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Grupo Cibest (NYSE:CIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The bank reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. Grupo Cibest had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 8.41%. As a group, analysts forecast that Grupo Cibest will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Cibest Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $1.304 dividend. This is an increase from Grupo Cibest's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $5.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Grupo Cibest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.78%.

Grupo Cibest Company Profile

Bancolombia SA NYSE: CIB is a leading financial institution in Colombia, offering a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services. As one of the largest universal banks in the country, the company provides retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, treasury services, and wealth management solutions. Through its extensive branch network and digital platforms, Bancolombia serves individual clients, small and medium enterprises, and large corporations, focusing on convenience, innovation and customer experience.

In addition to traditional banking, Bancolombia's product portfolio includes insurance, pension fund management, leasing, factoring, brokerage and asset management.

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