Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Technical breakout: EBMT crossed above its 200-day moving average
• Strong quarterly results and analyst support: The bank beat estimates with $0.60 EPS (vs. $0.47) and $24.29M revenue, and analysts now average a "Buy" rating with a consensus price target of $23.00 after upgrades from Zacks and a price-target raise from DA Davidson.
• Mixed ownership activity and income profile: Insiders have sold ~19,647 shares recently (insider ownership ~6.1%) while several institutions materially increased stakes, and the company pays a $0.145 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.58, ~2.7% yield).

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $18.83 and traded as high as $21.81. Eagle Bancorp Montana shares last traded at $21.42, with a volume of 40,699 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's fifty day moving average price is $21.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.31.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.13. The company 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 8.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Eagle Bancorp Montana's dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 4,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $96,667.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,011.38. This represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 92,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,073,082.20. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,647 shares of company stock worth $446,110 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bancorp Montana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 272.3% in the 4th 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 549.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,900 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,982,000 after buying an additional 100,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 108.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,891,000 after buying an additional 90,024 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana during the second quarter worth about $751,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana during the second quarter worth about $699,000. 35.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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