Short Interest in Byline Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BY) Rises By 21.6%

Byline Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 418,555 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the January 15th total of 344,091 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 268,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 268,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Byline Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:BY opened at $32.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.06 and a 200-day moving average of $28.91. Byline Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.63 and a 52 week high of $33.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.87.

Byline Bancorp (NYSE:BY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. Byline Bancorp had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $117.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.51 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Byline Bancorp will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Byline Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Byline Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Byline Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Byline Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $2.25 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Byline Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Byline Bancorp by 99.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Byline Bancorp by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Byline Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Byline Bancorp by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Byline Bancorp by 1,572.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Byline Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Byline Bancorp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Byline Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Byline Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

About Byline Bancorp

Byline Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Byline Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Established under its current name in 2016, the company operates as a community-focused financial institution offering a broad array of banking products and services to corporate, professional and consumer clients.

On the commercial banking side, Byline Bancorp serves small and midsize businesses, real estate developers, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations.