Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 626,700 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the November 30th total of 572,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 65,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Marin Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,662 shares of the bank's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp by 46.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,370 shares of the bank's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 14,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 362,376 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,282,000 after buying an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $2,195,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Bank of Marin Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 363,110 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,295,000 after buying an additional 3,073 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Bank of Marin Bancorp Stock Performance

BMRC stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.77. 55,209 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,006. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.29 million, a PE ratio of -27.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.17. Bank of Marin Bancorp has a 52 week low of $14.11 and a 52 week high of $27.11.

Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Bank of Marin Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 3.05% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of Marin Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Marin Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Bank of Marin Bancorp's payout ratio is -116.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BMRC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson upgraded Bank of Marin Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Bank of Marin Bancorp from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Bank of Marin Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

About Bank of Marin Bancorp

Bank of Marin Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Marin that provides a range of financial services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors in the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; and individual retirement, health savings, and demand deposit marketplace accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit, certificate of deposit account registry, and insured cash sweep services.