Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank AG has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from six brokerage firms, with a mix of ratings including two strong buy ratings.
• The bank reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.20, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.05, along with revenues of $3.26 billion.
• Erste Group Bank recently declared a dividend of $1.1657 per share, representing a 289.0% dividend yield, though the company has a payout ratio of 28.89%.

Shares of Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

EBKDY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Erste Group Bank to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Erste Group Bank Stock Performance

OTCMKTS:EBKDY traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.98. 101,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,210. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Erste Group Bank has a fifty-two week low of $25.00 and a fifty-two week high of $50.20.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Erste Group Bank had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, analysts predict that Erste Group Bank will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Erste Group Bank Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $1.1657 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 289.0%. Erste Group Bank's payout ratio is 28.89%.

Erste Group Bank Company Profile

Erste Group Bank AG provides a range of banking and other financial services to retail, corporate, and public sector customers. The company operates through Retail, Corporates, Group Markets, Asset/Liability Management & Local Corporate Center, Savings Banks, and Group Corporate Center segments. It provides mortgage and consumer loans, investment products, current accounts, savings products, and credit cards, as well as cross selling products, such as leasing, insurance, and building society products.