Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday. Approximately 538,053 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 476% from the average daily volume of 93,452 shares. The stock last traded at $60.3350 and had previously closed at $59.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBKDY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Erste Group Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Oddo Bhf raised Erste Group Bank from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Erste Group Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Erste Group Bank Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.73 and a 200-day moving average of $62.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.92.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58. Erste Group Bank had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Erste Group Bank AG will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Erste Group Bank Company Profile

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austria-based financial services group that provides banking and related services to retail customers, small and medium-sized businesses, corporations, public-sector organizations and institutional clients. Its offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, business finance, payment services, investment products, securities trading and wealth management.

Founded in 1819 as Erste österreichische Spar-Casse, the group has developed into one of Central and Eastern Europe’s major banking organizations.