Short Interest in Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Drops By 63.3%

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,900 shares, a decline of 63.3% from the May 15th total of 7,900 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 228,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.0 days.

Erste Group Bank Price Performance

OTCMKTS EBKDY traded up $0.97 on Monday, reaching $41.78. The company had a trading volume of 186,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,663. The firm has a market cap of $34.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.10. Erste Group Bank has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $42.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.43.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. Erste Group Bank had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 15.21%. As a group, research analysts predict that Erste Group Bank will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Erste Group Bank Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $1.1657 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a yield of 2.89%. Erste Group Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EBKDY shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upgraded Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Erste Group Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy".

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.