SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 130,800 shares, an increase of 3,342.1% from the December 31st total of 3,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SB Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in SB Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $408,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in SB Financial Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in SB Financial Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 71,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. 66.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SB Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBFG traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $22.22. 8,340 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,187. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.05. The firm has a market cap of $147.76 million, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.77. SB Financial Group has a 12 month low of $13.01 and a 12 month high of $23.00.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that SB Financial Group will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

SB Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.145 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. SB Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.72%.

About SB Financial Group

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.