Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Short Interest Up 9.6% in March

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 135,800 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the March 15th total of 123,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Hawthorn Bancshares

In related news, Director Jonathan Holtaway purchased 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.12 per share, with a total value of $105,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,360. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hawthorn Bancshares news, Director Jonathan Holtaway bought 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.12 per share, with a total value of $105,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $156,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 20,400 shares of company stock worth $426,846 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hawthorn Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Hawthorn Bancshares by 13,475.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 174.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 1,356.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 99.2% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawthorn Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWBK traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.93. The company had a trading volume of 636 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,804. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52-week low of $15.02 and a 52-week high of $26.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.31. The company has a market capitalization of $139.91 million, a PE ratio of 152.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 0.75% and a net margin of 0.96%. The company had revenue of $18.00 million during the quarter.

Hawthorn Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 516.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hawthorn Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

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.