MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) Short Interest Down 13.0% in January

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 285,800 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the December 31st total of 328,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 115,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded MidWestOne Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded MidWestOne Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $34.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from $33.00 to $31.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from $30.00 to $33.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

MidWestOne Financial Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MOFG opened at $31.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.81 and its 200 day moving average is $29.49. MidWestOne Financial Group has a 12-month low of $19.43 and a 12-month high of $34.56.

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. MidWestOne Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 9.79%. On average, research analysts predict that MidWestOne Financial Group will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MidWestOne Financial Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.2425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. MidWestOne Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -23.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MidWestOne Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MidWestOne Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $163,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $247,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.42% of the company’s stock.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts.