Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Hawthorn Bancshares Price Performance

Hawthorn Bancshares stock opened at $32.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $225.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.97. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $34.00.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.46% and a net margin of 5.67%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawthorn Bancshares

In other news, Director Frank E. Burkhead sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,771.99. This represents a 20.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 5,053 shares of Hawthorn Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $144,364.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 402,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,498,282.20. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,457 shares of company stock worth $285,175 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hawthorn Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

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.