NewtekOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEWT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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 daily volume of 150,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.7 days.

NewtekOne Price Performance

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

NewtekOne (NASDAQ:NEWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. NewtekOne had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $75.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.55 million. Equities research analysts expect that NewtekOne will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewtekOne Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry Sloane purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $38,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,164,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,084,872.25. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased 4,750 shares of company stock worth $61,368 in the last 90 days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NewtekOne

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewtekOne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 584,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,467,000 after purchasing an additional 10,933 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in NewtekOne by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 474,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,911,000 after purchasing an additional 4,595 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in NewtekOne by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,563,000 after buying an additional 113,261 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in NewtekOne by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 253,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,239,000 after buying an additional 100,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in NewtekOne by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 210,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 18,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley upped their target price on NewtekOne from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of NewtekOne from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of NewtekOne in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

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.