AmeriServ Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRV) Short Interest Update

AmeriServ Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRV) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 206,424 shares, an increase of 155.5% from the July 15th total of 80,806 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,128 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASRV. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AmeriServ Financial during the second quarter valued at about $587,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AmeriServ Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of AmeriServ Financial by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.52% of the company’s stock.

AmeriServ Financial Price Performance

AmeriServ Financial stock opened at $5.01 on Friday. AmeriServ Financial has a 1 year low of $2.80 and a 1 year high of $5.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.87. The company has a market cap of $84.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $15.90 million for the quarter. AmeriServ Financial had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 7.21%.

AmeriServ Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. AmeriServ Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of AmeriServ Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About AmeriServ Financial

AmeriServ Financial, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, mortgage and commercial financial products and services through its subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Investment or Parent. The Community Banking segment includes both retail and commercial banking activities. The Wealth Management segment involves in the operations of a Trust Company, West Chester Capital Advisors an investment advisory firm, and Financial Services.