Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Short Interest Update

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,659,034 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the December 15th total of 3,686,005 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 762,162 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 762,162 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.75.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:PB traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 703,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,588. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $61.06 and a 1 year high of $82.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.94 and a 200-day moving average of $68.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.45. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 30.28% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The business had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 42.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Leah Henderson sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $76,650.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $589,475. The trade was a 11.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total value of $56,608.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 107,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,622.12. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,150 shares of company stock worth $1,115,794. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PB. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the second quarter worth $38,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth $42,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services.

Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence.