Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Short Interest Up 107.8% in December

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,600 shares, a growth of 107.8% from the November 30th total of 5,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hawthorn Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Performance

Hawthorn Bancshares stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,897. The company has a market capitalization of $197.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.56. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.49 and its 200-day moving average is $24.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Hawthorn Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. 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 2.69%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is 84.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank E. Burkhead sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.87, for a total value of $95,610.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,477 shares in the company, valued at $365,771.99. This represents a 20.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 1,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $32,733.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 390,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,577,629. This represents a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,457 shares of company stock worth $285,175 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HWBK. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.