CHESAPEAKE, Va., May 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNRK), the holding company for Monarch Bank, announced a 14% increase in the quarterly common stock cash dividend at its annual shareholders meeting held on May 8, 2014. The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per common share, payable on June 13, 2014, to shareholders of record on May 23, 2014. The amount and declaration of future cash dividends is subject to Board of Director's approval in addition to regulatory restrictions.
"One of our primary goals is to grow and enhance shareholder value, and since we began paying cash dividends to our common stockholders in 2009 we have increased the payout each and every year," stated Brad E. Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer. "With our better than budgeted first quarter, and our forecasts for the future, the Board of Directors felt it was appropriate to increase the dividend by 14% which equals a 2.8% dividend yield based on our current stock price."
Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. is the one-bank holding company for Monarch Bank. Monarch Bank is a community bank with eleven banking offices in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Williamsburg, Virginia. OBX Bank, a division of Monarch Bank, operates offices in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, North Carolina. Monarch Mortgage and our affiliated mortgage companies have over thirty offices with locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and South Carolina. Our subsidiaries/ divisions include Monarch Bank, OBX Bank, Monarch Mortgage (secondary mortgage origination), OBX Bank Mortgage (secondary mortgage origination), Coastal Home Mortgage, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Regional Home Mortgage, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Monarch Bank Private Wealth (investment, trust, planning and private banking), Monarch Investments (investment and insurance solutions), Real Estate Security Agency, LLC (title agency) and Monarch Capital, LLC (commercial mortgage brokerage). The shares of common stock of Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. are publicly traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "MNRK".
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of federal securities laws that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Statements herein are based on certain assumptions and analyses by the Company and are factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in or implied by such statements for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: changes in interest rates; changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines; significant changes in the economic scenario: significant changes in regulatory requirements; and significant changes in securities markets. Consequently, all forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and the cautionary language in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.