Short Interest in Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) Expands By 38.2%

Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 61,500 shares, a growth of 38.2% from the January 31st total of 44,500 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 10,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PLBC. Piper Sandler started coverage on Plumas Bancorp in a report on Thursday, February 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Plumas Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Plumas Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock.

Plumas Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

Plumas Bancorp stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,721. Plumas Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $51.33. The company has a market cap of $260.30 million, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.24.

Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.14. Plumas Bancorp had a net margin of 30.74% and a return on equity of 16.88%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Plumas Bancorp will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Plumas Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Plumas Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Plumas Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.05%.

Insider Transactions at Plumas Bancorp

In other news, Director Michael Kevin Foster acquired 1,000 shares of Plumas Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.67 per share, for a total transaction of $45,670.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,670. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Plumas Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Plumas Bancorp by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 123,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after buying an additional 6,075 shares during the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Plumas Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,026,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Plumas Bancorp by 533.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 4,938 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Plumas Bancorp by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 170,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,954,000 after acquiring an additional 9,328 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Plumas Bancorp by 129.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.68% of the company’s stock.

About Plumas Bancorp

Plumas Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Plumas Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and middle market businesses, and individuals in Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market checking, business sweep, public funds sweep, savings, time deposit, and retirement accounts.