Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) Short Interest Up 38.2% in February

Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 61,500 shares, a growth of 38.2% from the January 31st total of 44,500 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PLBC shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Plumas Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Plumas Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Plumas Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company.

Plumas Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLBC traded down $1.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $44.54. The company had a trading volume of 10,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,246. Plumas Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $51.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.70.

Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.14. Plumas Bancorp had a net margin of 30.74% and a return on equity of 16.88%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Plumas Bancorp will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plumas Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Plumas Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Plumas Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.05%.

Insider Activity at Plumas Bancorp

In other news, Director Michael Kevin Foster bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.67 per share, with a total value of $45,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,670. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plumas Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLBC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Plumas Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Plumas Bancorp by 447.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plumas Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Plumas Bancorp by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Plumas Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.68% of the company’s stock.

Plumas Bancorp Company Profile

Plumas Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Plumas Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and middle market businesses, and individuals in Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market checking, business sweep, public funds sweep, savings, time deposit, and retirement accounts.