Short Interest in OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) Expands By 23.5%

OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,800 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the November 30th total of 37,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 27,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of OP Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OPBK. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of OP Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in OP Bancorp by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 24,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 7,440 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of OP Bancorp by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of OP Bancorp by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 61,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 9,447 shares during the period. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of OP Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 90,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. 53.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OP Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OPBK traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.56. The company had a trading volume of 9,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,236. OP Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.91 and a 1 year high of $18.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $230.47 million, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.64.

OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $39.54 million during the quarter. OP Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, analysts forecast that OP Bancorp will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OP Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. OP Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.29%.

About OP Bancorp

OP Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Open Bank that provides banking products and services in California. It offers demand, checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate, small business administration, commercial and industrial business, single-family residential, term, consumer, and home mortgage loans; trade financing products; and letters of credit, and SWIFT and export advice.