Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Pathward Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASH) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $51.09, but opened at $53.36. Pathward Financial shares last traded at $53.12, with a volume of 45,028 shares traded.

The savings and loans company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.19. Pathward Financial had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 22.90%. The company had revenue of $247.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Pathward Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Pathward Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CASH. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Pathward Financial from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Pathward Financial from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Insider Activity at Pathward Financial

In related news, President Anthony M. Sharett sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.50, for a total value of $47,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,574,435. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Pathward Financial in the first quarter valued at about $17,819,000. Grizzlyrock Capital LLC bought a new position in Pathward Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,237,000. Greenwich Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Pathward Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,861,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Pathward Financial in the third quarter valued at about $4,157,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Pathward Financial by 981.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 98,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 88,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.66% of the company’s stock.

Pathward Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.11.

Pathward Financial Company Profile

Pathward Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pathward, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Corporate Services/Other. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, and money market savings accounts.