Short Interest in USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB) Expands By 23.2%

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,900 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the February 28th total of 47,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 27,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James downgraded USCB Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

USCB Financial Price Performance

Shares of USCB stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.00. 43,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,223. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $340.90 million, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.64. USCB Financial has a 12 month low of $10.25 and a 12 month high of $21.86.

USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.02). USCB Financial had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 17.14%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that USCB Financial will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

USCB Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from USCB Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. USCB Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USCB. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of USCB Financial by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,799 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of USCB Financial by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in USCB Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of USCB Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 237,892 shares of the company's stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in USCB Financial by 129.0% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.34% of the company's stock.

USCB Financial Company Profile

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.