Short Interest in Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Declines By 16.2%

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) saw a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 102,900 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the September 15th total of 122,800 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 23.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Hawthorn Bancshares in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWBK traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $23.40. 5,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,171. Hawthorn Bancshares has a twelve month low of $15.02 and a twelve month high of $26.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.77 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.12.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $18.17 million for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 3.19% and a net margin of 3.96%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 253.33%.

Institutional Trading of Hawthorn Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $381,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 278,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,686,000 after buying an additional 12,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.