MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.37 and last traded at $40.4460, with a volume of 69071 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens cut MidWestOne Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised MidWestOne Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MidWestOne Financial Group from $37.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MidWestOne Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.17.

MidWestOne Financial Group Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.18 and its 200-day moving average is $30.83.

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 16.66%.The company had revenue of $50.10 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

MidWestOne Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2425 per share. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. MidWestOne Financial Group’s payout ratio is 34.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Charles N. Reeves purchased 760 shares of MidWestOne Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.91 per share, with a total value of $28,811.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 62,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,378,928.32. The trade was a 1.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have bought a total of 3,760 shares of company stock valued at $138,546 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MidWestOne Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $1,872,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in MidWestOne Financial Group by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,471,000 after buying an additional 58,709 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 927,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,467,000 after buying an additional 31,340 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group by 22.8% in the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 747,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,132,000 after acquiring an additional 138,959 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in the second quarter worth $715,000. 65.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts.