USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB) Short Interest Up 23.2% in March

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,900 shares, a growth of 23.2% from the February 28th total of 47,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 27,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

USCB Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of USCB opened at $18.56 on Tuesday. USCB Financial has a twelve month low of $10.25 and a twelve month high of $21.86. The stock has a market cap of $372.18 million, a PE ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.80.

USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.02). USCB Financial had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 17.14%. On average, equities analysts forecast that USCB Financial will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

USCB Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from USCB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. USCB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USCB Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of USCB Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in USCB Financial by 129.0% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in USCB Financial by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in USCB Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of USCB Financial by 228.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 13,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.34% of the company’s stock.

About USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.