National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE:NBHC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE:NBHC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,029,767 shares, an increase of 29.6% from the January 15th total of 794,439 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 517,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 517,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NBHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of National Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens raised National Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research raised National Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of National Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

National Bank Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NBHC stock opened at $41.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.81. National Bank has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $43.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $100.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.48 million. National Bank had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 18.66%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that National Bank will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from National Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. National Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Bank

In other National Bank news, insider John Steinmetz acquired 24,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.41 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,122.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 536,504 shares in the company, valued at $22,216,630.64. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in National Bank by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,888,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,797,000 after acquiring an additional 47,991 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Bank by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,570,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,085,000 after purchasing an additional 120,754 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Bank by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,162,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,184,000 after purchasing an additional 793,902 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Bank by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 964,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,259,000 after purchasing an additional 61,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in National Bank by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 903,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,996,000 after purchasing an additional 18,612 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Bank Company Profile

National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NBHC) is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Through its network of community bank subsidiaries, the company provides deposit, lending and payment solutions to consumer, small business and commercial clients across multiple U.S. markets.

Since its founding in 1992, National Bank Holdings has pursued a growth strategy focused on acquiring and integrating locally branded community banks. Its footprint spans the Midwest and Southern United States, including Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Illinois and Tennessee.