Short Interest in BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) Rises By 43.1%

BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,300 shares, a growth of 43.1% from the August 15th total of 5,800 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

BayFirst Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:BAFN traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.71. 3,103 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,502. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.62. The company has a market cap of $52.49 million, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.44. BayFirst Financial has a one year low of $8.88 and a one year high of $14.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $20.84 million for the quarter. BayFirst Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 6.38%.

BayFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. BayFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Institutional Trading of BayFirst Financial

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in BayFirst Financial stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,774 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.86% of BayFirst Financial worth $459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 16.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BayFirst Financial

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes.