Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Hawthorn Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HWBK opened at $18.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $132.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.97 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day moving average is $21.41. Hawthorn Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $15.02 and a fifty-two week high of $26.00.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last released 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 1.69% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $18.00 million during the quarter.

Hawthorn Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. This is a positive change from Hawthorn Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 226.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 80,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,600. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hawthorn Bancshares news, Director Jonathan L. States acquired 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.57 per share, with a total value of $25,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,210.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $156,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 20,400 shares of company stock worth $426,846 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hawthorn Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hawthorn Bancshares during the first quarter worth $240,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Hawthorn Bancshares by 99.2% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 4,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 16,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. 30.73% of the stock is owned by 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.