QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 183,200 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the June 30th total of 143,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 58,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QCR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in QCR by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,025,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,907,000 after buying an additional 24,251 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QCR by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 912,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,265,000 after acquiring an additional 15,587 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of QCR by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,956 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QCR by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 107,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,286,000 after purchasing an additional 52,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in QCR by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 88,886 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.01% of the company’s stock.

QCR Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of QCR stock opened at $75.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.42 and its 200 day moving average is $58.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.95. QCR has a one year low of $45.83 and a one year high of $76.97.

QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.34. QCR had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $150.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that QCR will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

QCR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. QCR’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of QCR in a research note on Monday.

QCR Company Profile

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.