Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Hawthorn Bancshares Price Performance

HWBK opened at $32.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.09. Hawthorn Bancshares has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $34.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $226.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.53.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is 84.44%.

Insider Transactions at Hawthorn Bancshares

In other news, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 5,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $144,364.21. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 402,460 shares in the company, valued at $11,498,282.20. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 278,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,686,000 after buying an additional 12,800 shares during the period. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.