Short Interest in Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Increases By 56.3%

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,500 shares, a growth of 56.3% from the January 15th total of 17,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Bancorp Montana

In related news, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.97, for a total transaction of $84,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 57,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $981,510.86. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 10,000 shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $151,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 126,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,904,358.63. The trade was a 7.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bancorp Montana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 520,663 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,221,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 220,349 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 19,907 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 203,826 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,125,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 110,192 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 9,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,715 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 20,812 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Performance

Eagle Bancorp Montana stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.99. 23,985 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,284. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.28 million, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.47 and its 200-day moving average is $15.70. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a 12-month low of $12.32 and a 12-month high of $18.00.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 5.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.1425 dividend. This is a boost from Eagle Bancorp Montana's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eagle Bancorp Montana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Company Profile

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts.