ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Short Interest Up 17.6% in February

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 550,200 shares, a growth of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 467,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.8 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ChoiceOne Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 476,103 shares of the company's stock worth $16,968,000 after acquiring an additional 121,473 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 438,579 shares of the company's stock worth $15,631,000 after acquiring an additional 36,909 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 224,304 shares of the company's stock worth $7,994,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services during the third quarter worth $6,906,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 188,103 shares of the company's stock worth $6,706,000 after buying an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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ChoiceOne Financial Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services stock traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $28.51. The stock had a trading volume of 86,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.71 million, a P/E ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.72. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 1 year low of $21.52 and a 1 year high of $38.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.08.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a net margin of 19.21% and a return on equity of 12.44%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. ChoiceOne Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Company Profile

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services.