UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 754,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

UMB Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ UMBF opened at $90.42 on Tuesday. UMB Financial has a 52 week low of $76.00 and a 52 week high of $129.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.71.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 15.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that UMB Financial will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. UMB Financial’s payout ratio is presently 17.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UMBF shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on UMB Financial from $139.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised UMB Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UMB Financial from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UMB Financial from $156.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total transaction of $60,146.51. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,010 shares in the company, valued at $1,484,831.30. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total value of $380,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,313,427.67. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UMB Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UMBF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,762,481 shares of the bank’s stock worth $537,494,000 after acquiring an additional 48,507 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in UMB Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,021,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $228,122,000 after buying an additional 102,104 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in UMB Financial by 403.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 866,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,114,000 after acquiring an additional 694,751 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UMB Financial by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 637,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,900,000 after purchasing an additional 88,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in UMB Financial by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 461,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,032,000 after acquiring an additional 68,634 shares during the last quarter. 87.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMB Financial Company Profile

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.