Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Hawthorn Bancshares Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of HWBK stock opened at $32.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.48 million, a PE ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.53. Hawthorn Bancshares has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $34.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.76 and a 200 day moving average of $23.09.

Hawthorn Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Hawthorn Bancshares’s payout ratio is 84.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan Holtaway sold 5,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $144,364.21. Following the transaction, the director now owns 402,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,498,282.20. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawthorn Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWBK. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hawthorn Bancshares by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 36.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hawthorn Bancshares by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 278,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,686,000 after buying an additional 12,800 shares during the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards.