Northrim BanCorp Inc (NASDAQ:NRIM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Northrim BanCorp Inc (NASDAQ:NRIM) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 566,084 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the March 15th total of 450,911 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 171,247 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael G. Huston purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 83,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,898,145.60. This represents a 1.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 2,790 shares of company stock valued at $64,179. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrim BanCorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northrim BanCorp by 314.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after acquiring an additional 145,578 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors now owns 97,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after buying an additional 73,343 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 185.8% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 255,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,531,000 after buying an additional 166,020 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 307.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 31,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 23,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Northrim BanCorp by 1,280.1% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 61,086 shares during the last quarter. 65.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrim BanCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Northrim BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrim BanCorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Northrim BanCorp Price Performance

Shares of Northrim BanCorp stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.29. The company had a trading volume of 37,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,247. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $537.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.32. Northrim BanCorp has a 1-year low of $17.85 and a 1-year high of $30.82.

Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ:NRIM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.10). Northrim BanCorp had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company had revenue of $51.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrim BanCorp will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrim BanCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Northrim BanCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.30%.

About Northrim BanCorp

Northrim BanCorp is the bank holding company for Northrim Bank, a community bank headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. The company offers a comprehensive suite of personal and commercial banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and treasury and cash management solutions.

With branches located across Alaska’s major population centers—such as Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau—Northrim serves both urban and rural communities.