CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 229,473 shares, a growth of 48.0% from the August 31st total of 155,014 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 125,566 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernst Bruderer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $54,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,128,223.33. This trade represents a 4.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,420. Corporate insiders own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COSO. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. boosted its holdings in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 61.2% during the first quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. now owns 1,159,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,505,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 329,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,108,000 after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 320,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,893,000 after purchasing an additional 57,082 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in CoastalSouth Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $574,000.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of COSO stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.78. The company had a trading volume of 91,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,040. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. CoastalSouth Bancshares has a one year low of $20.80 and a one year high of $28.56. The company has a market capitalization of $320.02 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.07.

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). CoastalSouth Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.59%.The company had revenue of $22.87 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that CoastalSouth Bancshares will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. CoastalSouth Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COSO shares. Zacks Research downgraded CoastalSouth Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank. The company provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations.

Coastal States Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other traditional financial services. Its activities are focused primarily on serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and retail customers.

The company is based in Savannah, Georgia, and serves communities in coastal Georgia and South Carolina through its banking offices and digital channels.