UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Short Interest Down 19.0% in March

UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 2,000,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 723,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of UMB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UMB Financial from $156.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on UMB Financial from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of UMB Financial from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.71.

UMB Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ UMBF opened at $101.10 on Tuesday. UMB Financial has a 12-month low of $76.00 and a 12-month high of $129.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.52. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.79.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 13.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UMB Financial will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. UMB Financial’s payout ratio is 17.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UMB Financial news, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total transaction of $60,146.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,484,831.30. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total value of $380,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,313,427.67. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UMB Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in UMB Financial by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $83,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UMB Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in UMB Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. 87.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UMB Financial Company Profile

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.