Meritage Portfolio Management Invests $250,000 in Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB)

Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 8,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHB. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth $96,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Bar Harbor Bankshares during the third quarter valued at about $162,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 54.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Trading Down 0.5 %

BHB stock opened at $25.51 on Friday. Bar Harbor Bankshares has a 1-year low of $19.55 and a 1-year high of $30.37. The stock has a market cap of $387.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEAMERICAN:BHB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. Bar Harbor Bankshares had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $36.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.10 million. As a group, analysts expect that Bar Harbor Bankshares will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bar Harbor Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. This is an increase from Bar Harbor Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Bar Harbor Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 40.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th.

About Bar Harbor Bankshares

Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides banking and nonbanking products and services primarily to consumers and businesses. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.