Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Hawthorn Bancshares Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWBK opened at $20.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.84. The company has a market cap of $143.42 million, a PE ratio of 155.31 and a beta of 0.47. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 52-week low of $15.02 and a 52-week high of $26.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a return on equity of 0.75% and a net margin of 0.96%. The firm had revenue of $18.00 million during the quarter.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 516.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawthorn Bancshares

In other Hawthorn Bancshares news, Director Douglas Todd Eden bought 7,000 shares of Hawthorn Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 80,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,600. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Jonathan L. States purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,210.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Todd Eden purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 20,400 shares of company stock valued at $426,846. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HWBK. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 13,475.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 174.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 1,356.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 99.2% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides commercial and personal banking services. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts; and 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.