Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Short Interest Up 38.9% in January

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,980,071 shares, a growth of 38.9% from the January 15th total of 2,865,066 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,548,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,548,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

PB traded down $1.78 on Monday, hitting $72.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,692,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,081. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.51. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $61.06 and a 1-year high of $79.03.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 31.22% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The company had revenue of $317.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.59, for a total value of $39,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,826,929. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total transaction of $56,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 107,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,622.12. This trade represents 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 $1,145,403. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PB. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 231.1% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 53,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 37,602 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 554,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,945,000 after purchasing an additional 226,232 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 634.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,371 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 14,141 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $572,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $1,488,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.77.

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.