Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Hawthorn Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HWBK opened at $32.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.07. The stock has a market cap of $226.38 million, a P/E ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.53. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Hawthorn Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.44%.

Insider Transactions at Hawthorn Bancshares

In related news, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 5,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $144,364.21. Following the sale, the director now owns 402,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,498,282.20. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,955 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 278,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,686,000 after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.