ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Short Interest Update

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 219,601 shares, an increase of 52.6% from the December 31st total of 143,866 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 79,143 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 79,143 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on COFS. Hovde Group cut ChoiceOne Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen cut ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ChoiceOne Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at ChoiceOne Financial Services

In other news, Director Eric E. Burrough acquired 5,000 shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.50 per share, with a total value of $142,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 174,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,982,740.50. This trade represents a 2.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ChoiceOne Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $185,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 9.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 4,982 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 18.3% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 20,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 8,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Price Performance

COFS traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.69. 88,473 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 1-year low of $24.89 and a 1-year high of $35.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.04 million, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.61.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $42.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.80 million. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 11.52%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from ChoiceOne Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Company Profile

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Jackson, Michigan. Through its subsidiary, ChoiceOne Bank, it provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. The company’s primary operations are concentrated in community banking, spanning retail deposits, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management solutions.

ChoiceOne Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and online and mobile banking platforms designed to meet the needs of its customers.