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

Parke Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PKBK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 94,352 shares, a growth of 46.7% from the December 31st total of 64,296 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 76,169 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 76,169 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Parke Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PKBK stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.26. 80,134 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,292. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.82 million, a PE ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.53. Parke Bancorp has a 12 month low of $16.94 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.78.

Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. Parke Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 25.86%.The company had revenue of $22.74 million for the quarter.

Parke Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Parke Bancorp’s payout ratio is 22.78%.

Insider Activity at Parke Bancorp

In other news, Director Daniel J. Dalton sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.57, for a total transaction of $137,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Vito S. Pantilione bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.63 per share, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,524,244.27. The trade was a 0.43% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,981 shares of company stock valued at $1,205,766. Insiders own 12.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Parke Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Parke Bancorp by 58.3% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 35,407 shares of the bank’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 13,036 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in shares of Parke Bancorp by 243.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 200,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after buying an additional 142,334 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Parke Bancorp by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 14,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Parke Bancorp by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Parke Bancorp by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Parke Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

About Parke Bancorp

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.