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

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) saw a significant 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 daily volume of 24,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBFG traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.25. 12,449 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,417. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.51. The company has a market cap of $132.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. SB Financial Group has a 52 week low of $13.01 and a 52 week high of $24.48.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SB Financial Group will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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SB Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.145 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. SB Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 1,991.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 588,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 560,646 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in SB Financial Group by 325.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in SB Financial Group by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 39,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in SB Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $408,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.67% of the company's stock.

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.