Short Interest in USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB) Declines By 20.2%

Key Points

• USCB Financial Holdings saw a significant 20.2% drop in short interest during August, with a total of 96,300 shares sold short, indicating a decrease in bearish sentiment toward the stock.
• Analysts have increased their ratings for USCB Financial, with Raymond James upgrading it to a "strong-buy" rating and raising the price target from $20.00 to $22.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, providing an annualized yield of 2.3% based on a payout ratio of 27.21%.

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 96,300 shares, a drop of 20.2% from the August 15th total of 120,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 23,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 23,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USCB Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of USCB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of USCB Financial during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in USCB Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of USCB Financial by 2,081.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,210 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of USCB Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of USCB Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $212,000. 61.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on USCB shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of USCB Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on USCB Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

USCB Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ USCB traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $17.30. The company had a trading volume of 22,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,945. The company has a market capitalization of $347.38 million, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.15. USCB Financial has a 1-year low of $13.90 and a 1-year high of $21.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.72 million. USCB Financial had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 19.51%. On average, analysts predict that USCB Financial will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

USCB Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. USCB Financial's payout ratio is 27.21%.

About USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.