NewtekOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEWT) Short Interest Up 23.3% in February

NewtekOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEWT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the January 31st total of 941,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 150,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days.

NewtekOne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NEWT traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $12.12. 128,686 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,089. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.33. NewtekOne has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.82 and a 200 day moving average of $12.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98.

NewtekOne (NASDAQ:NEWT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. NewtekOne had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $75.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.55 million. Research analysts anticipate that NewtekOne will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

NewtekOne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. NewtekOne’s payout ratio is currently 38.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NEWT. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of NewtekOne from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on NewtekOne from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of NewtekOne in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Transactions at NewtekOne

In other NewtekOne news, CEO Barry Sloane purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $38,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,164,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,084,872.25. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 4,750 shares of company stock valued at $61,368. Corporate insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NewtekOne

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEWT. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of NewtekOne by 253.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in NewtekOne by 199.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of NewtekOne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NewtekOne by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NewtekOne by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.35% of the company’s stock.

About NewtekOne

NewtekOne, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Newtek Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of various business and financial solutions under the Newtek brand name to the small- and medium-sized business market. The company accepts demand, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposits; and provides loans including SBA loans, commercial and industrial loans, and commercial real estate loans.