Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Short Interest Update

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 156,796 shares, a drop of 13.8% from the March 15th total of 181,799 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,095 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EBMT shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Up 2.3%

Eagle Bancorp Montana stock opened at $22.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $176.90 million, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a fifty-two week low of $15.10 and a fifty-two week high of $23.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.54.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $24.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 million. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Research analysts predict that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Eagle Bancorp Montana’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 10,000 shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $224,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 92,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,082.20. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Samuel Waters sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total transaction of $47,208.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $708,884.32. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,647 shares of company stock valued at $446,110 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bancorp Montana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBMT. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 272.3% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 342,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,821,000 after purchasing an additional 250,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 108.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 90,024 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in the second quarter valued at approximately $699,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 145.2% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 66,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 39,464 shares during the period. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $632,000. Institutional investors own 35.66% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Helena, Montana, that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Bank & Trust. The company offers a range of community banking services to individuals, small businesses and governmental entities. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage financing and treasury management.

Through Eagle Bank & Trust, the company provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, online and mobile banking platforms, ATM access and cash management solutions designed to meet the needs of local customers.