MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 328,500 shares, an increase of 195.1% from the December 31st total of 111,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 111,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MidWestOne Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,186,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in MidWestOne Financial Group by 318.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 800,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,834,000 after buying an additional 608,883 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in MidWestOne Financial Group during the third quarter worth $7,094,000. Jacobs Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in the third quarter worth $5,739,000. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $5,706,000. 65.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MOFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded MidWestOne Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from $33.00 to $31.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on MidWestOne Financial Group from $30.00 to $33.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday.

MidWestOne Financial Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of MidWestOne Financial Group stock traded down $0.38 on Wednesday, reaching $31.61. 75,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,673. The company has a market cap of $656.54 million, a P/E ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $30.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.38. MidWestOne Financial Group has a 1-year low of $19.43 and a 1-year high of $34.56.

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. MidWestOne Financial Group had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 5.13%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MidWestOne Financial Group will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

MidWestOne Financial Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.2425 dividend. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. MidWestOne Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.77%.

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.

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