SR Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRBK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemSR Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRBK – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 624,312 shares, an increase of 34.0% from the March 15th total of 465,840 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,140 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 19.4 days. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.
SR Bancorp Price Performance
SRBK remained flat at $17.74 on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 10,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,076. The firm has a market cap of $147.95 million, a PE ratio of 49.28 and a beta of 0.48. SR Bancorp has a 1 year low of $12.14 and a 1 year high of $18.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average of $16.15.
SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 million. SR Bancorp had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 1.27%.
SR Bancorp Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. SR Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded SR Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.
Get Our Latest Report on SR Bancorp
Insider Activity
In related news, CFO Harris M. Faqueri bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.40 per share, for a total transaction of $49,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $213,200. This represents a 30.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 5,570 shares of company stock valued at $91,979 in the last ninety days. 7.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in SR Bancorp by 6.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in SR Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 21,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in SR Bancorp by 142.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in SR Bancorp by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in SR Bancorp by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.70% of the company’s stock.
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.