CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:COSO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 229,473 shares, an increase of 48.0% from the August 31st total of 155,014 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 125,566 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COSO. Zacks Research downgraded CoastalSouth Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CoastalSouth Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoastalSouth Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Stock Up 0.6%

COSO traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.37. The company had a trading volume of 104,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,149. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.28. CoastalSouth Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.80 and a 52 week high of $28.56. The company has a market capitalization of $315.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $22.87 million for the quarter. CoastalSouth Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.59%. On average, research analysts anticipate that CoastalSouth Bancshares will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoastalSouth Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. CoastalSouth Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 9.01%.

Insider Transactions at CoastalSouth Bancshares

In other CoastalSouth Bancshares news, Director Ernst Bruderer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $54,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 41,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,223.33. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 5,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,420 in the last quarter. 15.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CoastalSouth Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $294,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of CoastalSouth Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $574,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 306.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares during the period. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its position in CoastalSouth Bancshares by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 329,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,108,000 after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the period.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank. The company provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations.

Coastal States Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other traditional financial services. Its activities are focused primarily on serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and retail customers.

The company is based in Savannah, Georgia, and serves communities in coastal Georgia and South Carolina through its banking offices and digital channels.