Short Interest in Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB) Rises By 129.0%

Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 79,700 shares, a growth of 129.0% from the May 15th total of 34,800 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 152,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Riverview Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nierenberg Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its position in Riverview Bancorp by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Nierenberg Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 1,286,422 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,384,000 after acquiring an additional 225,822 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Riverview Bancorp by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 943,332 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,415,000 after acquiring an additional 141,400 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Riverview Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted 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 worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Riverview Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. 69.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RVSB shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (up previously from $6.25) on shares of Riverview Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Riverview Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

Riverview Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of RVSB stock traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $5.41. 116,481 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 66,087. The company has a market cap of $113.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.28 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.64. 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 has a 1 year low of $3.30 and a 1 year high of $6.59.

Riverview Bancorp (NASDAQ:RVSB - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $12.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.40 million. Riverview Bancorp had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Riverview Bancorp will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Riverview Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Riverview Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.