ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Short Interest Down 86.1% in March

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 76,700 shares, a decrease of 86.1% from the February 28th total of 550,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Hovde Group began coverage on ChoiceOne Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on ChoiceOne Financial Services from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ChoiceOne Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 188,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,706,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 224,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,994,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of COFS stock traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $29.28. 23,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,746. The firm has a market cap of $262.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.06. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 52 week low of $21.52 and a 52 week high of $38.15.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 19.21%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.36%.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services.