SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Short Interest Up 21.8% in February

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 139,570 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the February 12th total of 114,623 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBFG has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered SB Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded SB Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SB Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

SB Financial Group Trading Up 2.1%

SBFG traded up $0.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.29. 6,628 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,199. SB Financial Group has a 1 year low of $17.10 and a 1 year high of $23.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.02. The firm has a market cap of $127.84 million, a P/E ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

SB Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 28.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBFG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of SB Financial Group by 131.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in SB Financial Group by 4,732.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in SB Financial Group by 23,475.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 8,594.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of SB Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.67% of the company’s stock.

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.