Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBHC) Short Interest Up 30.6% in February

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBHC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,700 shares, a growth of 30.6% from the January 31st total of 3,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Pathfinder Bancorp

In other news, SVP William D. O’brien sold 2,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total value of $40,330.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,786.10. This trade represents a 13.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ronald Tascarella sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,609 shares in the company, valued at $826,353. This trade represents a 9.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,556 shares of company stock worth $128,803. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PBHC. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pathfinder Bancorp by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 79,721 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after buying an additional 32,604 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in Pathfinder Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Pathfinder Bancorp by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 58,960 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 8,436 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Pathfinder Bancorp by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 288,511 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pathfinder Bancorp by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,640 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.73% of the company’s stock.

Pathfinder Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of PBHC traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.02. 865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,227. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.83. Pathfinder Bancorp has a 12-month low of $11.45 and a 12-month high of $19.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $80.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36 and a beta of 0.23.

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The savings and loans company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pathfinder Bancorp had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 3.07%.

Pathfinder Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Pathfinder Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits.