UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a decline of 44.5% from the January 31st total of 4,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 617,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at UMB Financial

In other UMB Financial news, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total transaction of $60,146.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,010 shares in the company, valued at $1,484,831.30. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total value of $380,135.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 334,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,313,427.67. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UMB Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its position in UMB Financial by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in shares of UMB Financial by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of UMB Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $83,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UMB Financial in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UMB Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $103,000. Institutional investors own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

UMB Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

UMBF stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Monday, hitting $111.17. The company had a trading volume of 201,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,026. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.45 and a 200-day moving average of $112.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. UMB Financial has a one year low of $76.00 and a one year high of $129.94.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 13.73%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that UMB Financial will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UMBF. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UMB Financial from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UMB Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UMB Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.14.

About UMB Financial

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.