Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 76,000 shares, a growth of 88.6% from the February 28th total of 40,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 46,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Bar Harbor Bankshares by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $151,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Bar Harbor Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 54.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN BHB traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.75. The company had a trading volume of 27,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,254. Bar Harbor Bankshares has a 52 week low of $23.26 and a 52 week high of $38.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.23. The company has a market cap of $454.28 million, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Bar Harbor Bankshares’s payout ratio is 42.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

About Bar Harbor Bankshares

Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides banking and nonbanking products and services primarily to consumers and businesses. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.