Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 243,900 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the April 30th total of 285,200 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 46,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on RM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Regional Management from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Regional Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 4th.

Regional Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Regional Management stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.02. 46,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,869. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.07 million, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.25. Regional Management has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $37.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 44.42 and a quick ratio of 44.42.

Regional Management (NYSE:RM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.03. Regional Management had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 7.01%. The company had revenue of $152.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Regional Management will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regional Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Regional Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Insider Transactions at Regional Management

In related news, CEO Robert William Beck sold 1,665 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total value of $50,166.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,013,241.04. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regional Management

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RM. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Regional Management by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Regional Management by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,691 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Regional Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $831,000. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Regional Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. now owns 7,433 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Regional Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,359 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.89% of the company's stock.

Regional Management Company Profile

Regional Management Corp., a diversified consumer finance company, provides various installment loan products primarily to customers with limited access to consumer credit from banks, thrifts, credit card companies, and other lenders in the United States. It offers small and large installment loans; and retail loans to finance the purchase of furniture, appliances, and other retail products.