BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,200 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the December 31st total of 7,200 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

BayFirst Financial Stock Up 3.6 %

BayFirst Financial stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $15.93. 8,089 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,114. BayFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $10.40 and a 1-year high of $17.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $65.79 million, a P/E ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.43.

BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter. BayFirst Financial had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 8.80%.

BayFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. BayFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 12.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in BayFirst Financial stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BAFN) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,101 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.87% of BayFirst Financial worth $475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 16.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BayFirst Financial Company Profile

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes.