Short Interest in Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Grows By 769.5%

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 20,990 shares, a growth of 769.5% from the April 15th total of 2,414 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 79,611 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Erste Group Bank Price Performance

OTCMKTS EBKDY traded down $0.58 on Tuesday, hitting $57.27. 2,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,810. Erste Group Bank has a twelve month low of $39.57 and a twelve month high of $66.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.53.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.05). Erste Group Bank had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 19.27%.The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Erste Group Bank will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EBKDY shares. Zacks Research cut Erste Group Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Erste Group Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austrian banking group headquartered in Vienna that operates as a universal bank serving retail, corporate and institutional customers. The group offers a broad range of financial services including deposit-taking, lending, mortgage financing, payment and transaction banking, and wealth management. Erste Group also provides capital markets services, corporate and investment banking solutions, and a range of insurance and pension-linked products through partnerships and subsidiary operations.

Erste Group maintains a significant regional presence beyond Austria, with operations across several Central and Eastern European countries.