Short Interest in The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited (NYSE:NTB) Increases By 64.4%

The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited (NYSE:NTB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 251,600 shares, a growth of 64.4% from the February 28th total of 153,000 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 201,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.70. 113,556 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 189,964. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son has a 12-month low of $30.07 and a 12-month high of $41.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.57.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE:NTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.17. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son had a net margin of 26.51% and a return on equity of 21.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 11,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 172,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,314,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.80.

About Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son

The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd. provides community banking and wealth management business. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Channel Islands and the UK, and Other. The Bermuda and Cayman segments offer retail banking and wealth management.