ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Short Interest Update

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 550,200 shares, a growth of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 467,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.8 days. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services stock traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $28.86. The company had a trading volume of 34,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,878. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.72. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 1 year low of $21.52 and a 1 year high of $38.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.46 and a 200-day moving average of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 19.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s payout ratio is 34.36%.

Institutional Trading of ChoiceOne Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. 19.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on COFS. DA Davidson reduced their price target on ChoiceOne Financial Services from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on ChoiceOne Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Company Profile

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services.