ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:COFS) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 124,000 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the August 15th total of 94,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Stock Performance

COFS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $30.19. 48,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,797. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 12 month low of $15.84 and a 12 month high of $32.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.74. The stock has a market cap of $228.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.70.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a net margin of 17.61% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $22.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.60 million. Analysts anticipate that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ChoiceOne Financial Services

In related news, CEO Kelly Potes purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 40,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,325. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, President Michael J. Burke, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.25 per share, with a total value of $27,250.00. Following the acquisition, the president now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,500. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kelly Potes bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,325. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $154,085 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ChoiceOne Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 350,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,591,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in ChoiceOne Financial Services by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 7.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,425 shares during the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Company Profile

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services.