Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,824 shares, an increase of 25.6% from the January 15th total of 6,227 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,669 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,669 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Bank Hapoalim Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of OTCMKTS:BKHYY opened at $135.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Bank Hapoalim has a 52-week low of $64.20 and a 52-week high of $143.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.19.

Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bank Hapoalim had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter.

Bank Hapoalim Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.9362 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 266.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Bank Hapoalim’s payout ratio is currently 38.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays downgraded Bank Hapoalim from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Bank Hapoalim

Bank Hapoalim B.M. is one of Israel’s largest banking groups, providing a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional customers. Founded in 1921 by the Histadrut labor federation, the bank has developed into a full-service financial institution offering deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, credit cards, payment services, and branch-based retail banking. It also serves small and medium-sized enterprises with working capital and trade finance solutions.

In addition to traditional retail banking, Bank Hapoalim operates significant corporate and investment banking divisions.