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

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,682 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.9 days.

SB Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SBFG stock opened at $20.24 on Wednesday. SB Financial Group has a 1 year low of $17.10 and a 1 year high of $23.93. 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 fifty day moving average is $21.33 and its 200-day moving average is $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $127.51 million, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.23.

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

SB Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend 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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SB Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SB Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SB Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About SB Financial Group

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.