Short Interest in ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK) Grows By 32.7%

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,800 shares, a growth of 32.7% from the March 15th total of 10,400 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 11,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Insider Transactions at ECB Bancorp

In other ECB Bancorp news, CFO Brandon Lavertu bought 1,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.45 per share, for a total transaction of $26,414.60. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 32,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $467,934.35. This represents a 5.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in ECB Bancorp stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,464 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,495 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.33% of ECB Bancorp worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 30.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ECB Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

ECBK traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,553. The stock's 50-day moving average is $15.08 and its 200-day moving average is $14.81. ECB Bancorp has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $16.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ECB Bancorp had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 2.40%.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts.