Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 96,900 shares, an increase of 27.5% from the March 15th total of 76,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 45,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BHB shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in a research report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Bar Harbor Bankshares by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Bar Harbor Bankshares by 4,202.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bar Harbor Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $151,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Bar Harbor Bankshares by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.49% of the company’s stock.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of BHB stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.98. 50,468 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,979. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Bar Harbor Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $38.47.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Bar Harbor Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 42.11%.

About Bar Harbor Bankshares

Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides banking and nonbanking products and services primarily to consumers and businesses. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.