ACNB Co. (NASDAQ:ACNB) Short Interest Up 8.4% in November

ACNB Co. (NASDAQ:ACNB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 235,100 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the October 31st total of 216,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.5 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ACNB Price Performance

Shares of ACNB stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.48. The company had a trading volume of 18,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,473. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $44.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.48. ACNB has a 52-week low of $30.24 and a 52-week high of $50.72. The company has a market capitalization of $397.40 million, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.61.

ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $34.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.51 million. ACNB had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 23.43%. Equities research analysts forecast that ACNB will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

ACNB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. ACNB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACNB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACNB. FMR LLC lifted its position in ACNB by 3.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 570,731 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,924,000 after buying an additional 21,358 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ACNB by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,755 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,724 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in ACNB by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 253,306 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ACNB by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 191,437 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ACNB by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 142,024 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,202,000 after purchasing an additional 4,851 shares during the last quarter. 32.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ACNB shares. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of ACNB in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of ACNB from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans.