Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.15 Per Share

Key Points

• Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share, reflecting a 1.8% increase from the previous dividend of $0.14.
• The bank reported a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 6.35%, with earnings per share meeting consensus estimates at $0.41 for the quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating increased investor confidence.

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.145 per share by the bank on Friday, September 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a 1.8% increase from Eagle Bancorp Montana's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a dividend payout ratio of 31.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Eagle Bancorp Montana to earn $1.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.57 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Down 2.2%

EBMT stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.76. 25,804 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.72 million, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a 1 year low of $12.61 and a 1 year high of $18.49.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.41. The company had revenue of $23.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.34 million. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 7.14%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

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.