Short Interest in Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB) Declines By 31.5%

Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,800 shares, a drop of 31.5% from the April 30th total of 50,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Riverview Bancorp Trading Down 4.3%

RVSB stock traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, reaching $5.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 292,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,896. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.64. Riverview Bancorp has a 12-month low of $3.30 and a 12-month high of $6.59. The firm has a market cap of $113.27 million, a PE ratio of 135.03 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Riverview Bancorp (NASDAQ:RVSB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. Riverview Bancorp had a return on equity of 2.92% and a net margin of 1.13%. The company had revenue of $12.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.40 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Riverview Bancorp will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Riverview Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. Riverview Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

Riverview Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Riverview Bancorp

In other news, major shareholder Martin S. Friedman sold 186,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $965,282.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,750 shares of company stock worth $40,685. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Riverview Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Columbia River Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Riverview Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Riverview Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Riverview Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Riverview Bancorp by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 94,406 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 4,524 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Riverview Bancorp by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 254,312 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 target price (up previously from $6.25) on shares of Riverview Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Riverview Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

About Riverview Bancorp

Riverview Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Riverview Bank that provides commercial banking services to small and medium size businesses, professionals, and wealth building individuals. It offers a range of deposit products, including demand deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and retirement savings plans.