Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 76.7% in September

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 16,670 shares, an increase of 76.7% from the August 31st total of 9,434 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 84,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Erste Group Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Erste Group Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded shares of Erste Group Bank from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Erste Group Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Erste Group Bank stock traded down $2.51 on Tuesday, hitting $69.70. The stock had a trading volume of 9,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,285. Erste Group Bank has a 52-week low of $47.02 and a 52-week high of $73.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.16.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Erste Group Bank had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 18.39%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Erste Group Bank will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

About Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austria-based banking group serving retail customers, small and medium-sized businesses, corporate clients, and institutional customers. Its services include current and savings accounts, consumer and housing loans, mortgages, payment services, investment products, insurance-related offerings, corporate finance, and capital-markets services.

The group has its roots in Erste österreichische Spar-Casse, founded in Vienna in 1819. Through its banking subsidiaries, Erste Group provides financial services across Austria and several Central and Eastern European markets, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia.