Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) Short Interest Down 8.6% in January

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,400 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 8,100 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 11,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawthorn Bancshares

In other news, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 1,015 shares of Hawthorn Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $32,733.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 390,004 shares in the company, valued at $12,577,629. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank E. Burkhead sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.87, for a total value of $95,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,477 shares in the company, valued at $365,771.99. This represents a 20.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,690 shares of company stock worth $446,810. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. now owns 15,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Hawthorn Bancshares by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hawthorn Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Hawthorn Bancshares Trading Down 2.0 %

HWBK stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.96. The company had a trading volume of 7,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,048. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $35.95. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.67. The stock has a market cap of $230.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.59.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 16.65%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Hawthorn Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 29.12%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.