Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 149,296 shares, a growth of 45.9% from the February 26th total of 102,350 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 76,148 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Sheppard, Jr. sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.03, for a total value of $608,175.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicholas J. Pantilione sold 14,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total transaction of $415,155.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,336.50. This trade represents a 88.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,700 shares of company stock worth $47,430 and have sold 42,175 shares worth $1,161,181. 15.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKBK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Parke Bancorp by 228.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 105,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after buying an additional 73,505 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Parke Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,443 shares of the bank’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Parke Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Parke Bancorp by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 15,969 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Parke Bancorp by 46.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 64,420 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.69% of the company’s stock.

Parke Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:PKBK traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.28. The company had a trading volume of 4,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,593. Parke Bancorp has a twelve month low of $16.94 and a twelve month high of $29.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $331.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.56.

Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $22.74 million for the quarter. Parke Bancorp had a net margin of 25.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%.

Parke Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Parke Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Parke Bancorp in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Parke Bancorp Company Profile

Parke Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Parke Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients through a network of branches and ATMs, supported by secure online and mobile banking platforms.

Its product lineup includes deposit accounts—such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit—alongside a variety of lending solutions.