MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,300 shares, a decrease of 45.0% from the March 15th total of 98,800 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MOFG. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MidWestOne Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.67.

MidWestOne Financial Group Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of MOFG opened at $20.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.98. MidWestOne Financial Group has a twelve month low of $17.80 and a twelve month high of $27.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.45 million, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.95.

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. MidWestOne Financial Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The company had revenue of $36.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.40 million. On average, research analysts predict that MidWestOne Financial Group will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MidWestOne Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.243 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. MidWestOne Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.48%.

Insider Activity

In other MidWestOne Financial Group news, CEO Charles N. Reeves bought 4,447 shares of MidWestOne Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.49 per share, with a total value of $100,013.03. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,401.54. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MidWestOne Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in MidWestOne Financial Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,273,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,212,000 after acquiring an additional 47,386 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MidWestOne Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 681,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,653,000 after purchasing an additional 25,321 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in MidWestOne Financial Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 615,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,569,000 after purchasing an additional 30,907 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in MidWestOne Financial Group by 33.8% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 469,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,525,000 after purchasing an additional 118,547 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of MidWestOne Financial Group by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 341,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,293,000 after acquiring an additional 11,326 shares during the period. 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.