UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Short Interest Up 19.1% in March

UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 754,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on UMBF shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UMB Financial from $139.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UMB Financial from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UMB Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total transaction of $380,135.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,347 shares in the company, valued at $36,313,427.67. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total transaction of $60,146.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,484,831.30. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UMB Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $293,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in UMB Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $1,955,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in UMB Financial by 1.4% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 9,145 shares of the bank's stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in UMB Financial by 38.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 624 shares of the bank's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in UMB Financial by 93.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,705 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 11,916 shares in the last quarter. 87.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMB Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UMBF opened at $91.51 on Monday. UMB Financial has a 52 week low of $76.00 and a 52 week high of $129.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.94.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 15.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that UMB Financial will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

UMB Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UMB Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.80%.

About UMB Financial

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.

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