Short Interest in QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) Expands By 37.8%

QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 221,400 shares, an increase of 37.8% from the March 15th total of 160,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 86,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James decreased their target price on QCR from $95.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at QCR

In other QCR news, EVP Nicole A. Lee acquired 1,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.47 per share, with a total value of $85,846.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 1,881 shares in the company, valued at $147,602.07. This trade represents a 139.01 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James D. Klein sold 630 shares of QCR stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.40, for a total transaction of $46,242.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,415.20. This trade represents a 59.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QCR

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in QCR by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 481,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,696,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in QCR by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 465,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,520,000 after purchasing an additional 43,439 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in QCR by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 402,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of QCR by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 387,702 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,264,000 after purchasing an additional 36,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of QCR by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 195,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,732,000 after buying an additional 54,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.01% of the company’s stock.

QCR Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of QCRH stock traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.93. 97,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,766. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.81. QCR has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $96.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. QCR had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 12.68%. As a group, research analysts expect that QCR will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QCR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. QCR’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

About QCR

QCR Holdings, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and trust and asset management services. The company’s deposit products include noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, time, and brokered deposits. It also provides various commercial and retail lending/leasing, and investment services to corporations, partnerships, individuals, and government agencies.