Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Short Interest Update

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the February 13th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 513,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

PB opened at $70.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.25. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $57.16 and a 1 year high of $86.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 45.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens raised their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.50.

Insider Transactions at Prosperity Bancshares

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total transaction of $35,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 104,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,403,083.45. This trade represents a 0.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,000 shares of company stock worth $382,665. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 190.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.