Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,822,511 shares, a growth of 46.3% from the January 29th total of 3,980,071 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,755,776 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,755,776 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE PB traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $70.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,378,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,431. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.79 and a 200-day moving average of $68.88. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.66. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $61.06 and a 1-year high of $77.92.

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

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.88%.

Insider Transactions at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.31, for a total transaction of $35,655.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,805,703.65. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,486. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prosperity Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PB. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $289,000. Dean Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 36,115 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,023,000 after buying an additional 12,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PB has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Prosperity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut Prosperity Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut Prosperity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.00 to $68.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.54.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

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.