Short Interest in ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Decreases By 15.7%

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 185,187 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the January 15th total of 219,601 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 75,456 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 75,456 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Price Performance

NASDAQ COFS opened at $28.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.58. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 52 week low of $24.89 and a 52 week high of $35.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.98 million, a P/E ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.58.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $42.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.80 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from ChoiceOne Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian P. Petty sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $443,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 91,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,693,122.92. This represents a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ChoiceOne Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $510,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 100,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 33,282 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 163,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 14,027 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 210.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 134,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,969,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Hovde Group downgraded shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Jackson, Michigan. Through its subsidiary, ChoiceOne Bank, it provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. The company’s primary operations are concentrated in community banking, spanning retail deposits, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management solutions.

ChoiceOne Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and online and mobile banking platforms designed to meet the needs of its customers.