QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 183,200 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the June 30th total of 143,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 58,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

QCR Stock Performance

QCRH opened at $75.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.42 and a 200-day moving average of $58.47. QCR has a 52-week low of $45.83 and a 52-week high of $76.97.

QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.34. QCR had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 19.37%. The firm had revenue of $150.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that QCR will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QCR Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. QCR’s dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of QCR in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QCR

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of QCR by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 912,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,265,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of QCR in the fourth quarter worth $1,734,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QCR in the fourth quarter worth $514,000. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its position in QCR by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 14,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 4,820 shares during the period. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in QCR by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 107,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,286,000 after purchasing an additional 52,321 shares during the last quarter. 70.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About QCR

QCR Holdings, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and trust and asset management services. The company's deposit products include noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, time, and brokered deposits. It also provides various commercial and retail lending/leasing, and investment services to corporations, partnerships, individuals, and government agencies.