Short Interest in Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) Increases By 23.0%

Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,300 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the February 28th total of 35,200 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 25,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Parke Bancorp

In other Parke Bancorp news, Director Jeffrey H. Kripitz sold 6,101 shares of Parke Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.12, for a total transaction of $122,752.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,582.36. The trade was a 10.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 7,160 shares of company stock valued at $143,947 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 15.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Parke Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Parke Bancorp by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,427 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Parke Bancorp by 6.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,037 shares of the bank’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Parke Bancorp by 306.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 10,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Parke Bancorp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Parke Bancorp by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,085 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. 49.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Parke Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PKBK stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.19. 19,156 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,482. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.69. The company has a market cap of $215.42 million, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.73. Parke Bancorp has a 12 month low of $15.24 and a 12 month high of $24.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter. Parke Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 21.25%.

Parke Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Parke Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Parke Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

About Parke Bancorp

Parke Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Parke Bank that provides personal and business financial services to individuals and small to mid-sized businesses. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.