Short Interest in QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) Declines By 28.1%

QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,000 shares, a decrease of 28.1% from the March 15th total of 127,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 56,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity at QCR

In related news, CFO Todd A. Gipple sold 6,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $414,251.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,623. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other QCR news, CFO Todd A. Gipple sold 6,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $414,251.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,623. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Larry J. Helling bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $56,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 36,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,049,656. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of QCR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCRH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in QCR by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 111,830 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,329,000 after purchasing an additional 20,825 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of QCR during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of QCR by 2.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of QCR by 33.9% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of QCR by 1.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,231,738 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,702,000 after acquiring an additional 21,065 shares during the period. 70.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCRH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of QCR from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on QCR from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on QCR from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

QCR Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCRH traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.08. The company had a trading volume of 43,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. QCR has a 12-month low of $35.14 and a 12-month high of $62.94. The company has a market cap of $942.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.62.

QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.61. QCR had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $103.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.57 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that QCR will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QCR Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. QCR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.57%.

About QCR

QCR Holdings, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and trust and asset management services. The company's deposit products include noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, time, and brokered deposits. It also provides various commercial and retail lending/leasing, and investment services to corporations, partnerships, individuals, and government agencies.