Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Short Interest Up 27.3% in February

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the February 13th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 513,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $40,005.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 107,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,586,273.15. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $421,905 in the last ninety days. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prosperity Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $303,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 13,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,473,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PB traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.49. 592,677 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,029. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. Prosperity Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $57.16 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.27.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 45.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.