Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Hawthorn Bancshares Trading Down 2.2 %

HWBK opened at $26.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.12. Hawthorn Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $35.95. The company has a market cap of $201.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter. Hawthorn Bancshares had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 13.00%.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.12%.

Insider Transactions at Hawthorn Bancshares

In related news, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 6,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.97, for a total value of $217,733.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 370,119 shares in the company, valued at $12,202,823.43. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hawthorn Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hawthorn Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the period. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hawthorn Bancshares Company Profile

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.