Short Interest in MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) Drops By 13.0%

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 285,800 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the December 31st total of 328,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 115,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MidWestOne Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOFG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its stake in MidWestOne Financial Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 66,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in MidWestOne Financial Group by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in MidWestOne Financial Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 3,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MOFG shares. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from $30.00 to $33.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on MidWestOne Financial Group from $33.00 to $31.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised MidWestOne Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MidWestOne Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

MidWestOne Financial Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MOFG traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.63. 108,704 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $656.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 1.05. MidWestOne Financial Group has a twelve month low of $19.43 and a twelve month high of $34.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.78.

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. MidWestOne Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 9.79%. On average, research analysts predict that MidWestOne Financial Group will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MidWestOne Financial Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.2425 dividend. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. MidWestOne Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -23.89%.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts.