SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 116,500 shares, a growth of 46.4% from the February 13th total of 79,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 24,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBFG. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in SB Financial Group by 1,991.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 588,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 560,646 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in SB Financial Group by 325.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in SB Financial Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 71,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of SB Financial Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 39,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in SB Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $408,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.67% of the company’s stock.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBFG traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.35. 12,077 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,834. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.42 million, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.80. SB Financial Group has a 12 month low of $13.01 and a 12 month high of $24.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. SB Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 14.10%. As a group, analysts predict that SB Financial Group will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SB Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.145 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. SB Financial Group’s payout ratio is 33.72%.

SB Financial Group Company Profile

SB Financial Group, Inc operates as the financial holding company for the State Bank and Trust Company that provides a range of commercial banking and wealth management services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. It offers checking, savings, money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, agricultural, and residential mortgage loans.