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

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. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of SB Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

SB Financial Group Stock Up 2.1%

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

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

SB Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. SB Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 28.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SB Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in SB Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 192,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after buying an additional 4,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SB Financial Group by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 73,771 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SB Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 81,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of SB Financial Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SB Financial Group by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 51,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 9,820 shares during the last quarter. 66.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SB Financial Group Company Profile

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.