Pathward Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Pathward Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 1,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 198,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days. Currently, 7.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CASH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Pathward Financial from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Pathward Financial from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Pathward Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:CASH opened at $72.51 on Friday. Pathward Financial has a 52-week low of $46.68 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.25.

Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $167.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.20 million. Pathward Financial had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 21.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pathward Financial will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pathward Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Pathward Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Greg Sigrist sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.60, for a total value of $181,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $777,306.40. This represents a 18.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Pathward Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,376,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Pathward Financial by 6.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,052,287 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $135,471,000 after acquiring an additional 132,067 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pathward Financial by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 504,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,551,000 after acquiring an additional 85,566 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Pathward Financial during the second quarter worth about $4,669,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Pathward Financial by 321.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 93,127 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 71,054 shares in the last quarter. 92.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pathward Financial

Pathward Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pathward, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Corporate Services/Other. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, and money market savings accounts.