Ponce Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLB) Short Interest Up 22.1% in March

Ponce Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLB) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 304,803 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the February 26th total of 249,686 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 78,451 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ponce Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ponce Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ponce Financial Group by 38.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 185,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,731,000 after buying an additional 51,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ponce Financial Group by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 120,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 50,539 shares during the last quarter. M3F Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ponce Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 2,315,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,049,000 after acquiring an additional 48,887 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Ponce Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Institutional investors own 64.35% of the company’s stock.

Ponce Financial Group Stock Performance

PDLB traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.60. The stock had a trading volume of 43,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,653. The firm has a market cap of $401.06 million, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Ponce Financial Group has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $18.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.85.

Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $31.41 million during the quarter. Ponce Financial Group had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 9.52%. Analysts expect that Ponce Financial Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PDLB. Zacks Research raised Ponce Financial Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ponce Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ponce Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

About Ponce Financial Group

Ponce Financial Group, Inc (NASDAQ: PDLB) is a bank holding company based in Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiary, Banco Ponce, the company offers a range of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and corporate clients across the island.

The company’s core business activities include deposit-taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination and servicing, and treasury management solutions. In addition to traditional banking products, Ponce Financial Group provides cash management, electronic banking and wealth management services designed to support the financial needs of its diverse client base.

Ponce Financial Group operates exclusively in Puerto Rico, serving both urban and rural communities through its branch network.