SR Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRBK) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest dropped 25.9% in April to 462,417 shares (about 6.0% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover ratio of 20.0, indicating reduced short positions but a relatively long cover period.
• Insider buying increased: CFO Harris M. Faqueri bought 3,000 shares (a 30% rise in his holdings) and insiders have purchased 5,570 shares in the past three months, with insiders now owning 7.82% of the company.
• Q1 results and dividend: SR Bancorp beat EPS estimates ($0.12 vs. $0.10) while revenue was slightly below forecasts, and the firm pays a $0.05 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~1.0%, DPR ~55.6%).

SR Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 462,417 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the March 31st total of 624,312 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 23,097 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 20.0 days.

Insider Activity at SR Bancorp

In related news, CFO Harris M. Faqueri bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.40 per share, with a total value of $49,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 13,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,200. The trade was a 30.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 5,570 shares of company stock valued at $91,979 over the last three months. 7.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SR Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in SR Bancorp by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its position in SR Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 21,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in SR Bancorp by 142.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in SR Bancorp by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in SR Bancorp by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.70% of the company's stock.

SR Bancorp Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SRBK opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.40. The firm has a market cap of $160.04 million, a PE ratio of 53.31 and a beta of 0.48. SR Bancorp has a 1 year low of $12.30 and a 1 year high of $19.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 million. SR Bancorp had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 1.27%.

SR Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. SR Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of SR Bancorp from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.00.

About SR Bancorp

SR Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company that provides a broad array of banking and financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary. The firm focuses on serving community markets and maintaining close relationships with individuals, small businesses and local institutions.

Its product suite includes traditional deposit accounts such as checking and savings, certificates of deposit and money market accounts. On the lending side, SR Bancorp offers consumer, residential mortgage and commercial loans, as well as specialized lending solutions for small and mid-sized businesses.

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