SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 139,570 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the February 12th total of 114,623 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.9 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.9 days.

SB Financial Group Price Performance

SB Financial Group stock opened at $20.31 on Tuesday. SB Financial Group has a 52-week low of $17.10 and a 52-week high of $23.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.36 and its 200 day moving average is $21.01. The company has a market cap of $127.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.23.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $16.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.30 million. SB Financial Group had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 10.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SB Financial Group will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SB Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. SB Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBFG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SB Financial Group by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 73,771 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of SB Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $524,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in SB Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $439,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in SB Financial Group in the second quarter worth $384,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in SB Financial Group during the first quarter worth $350,000. 66.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SB Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SB Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SB Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBFG) is the bank holding company for Star Financial Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company offers a broad portfolio of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, and cash management services.

In its commercial banking division, SB Financial Group provides working capital loans, equipment financing, commercial real estate lending and treasury management solutions designed for small- and mid-sized businesses.