Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Short Interest Up 3,613.0% in July

Key Points

• Short interest surged 3,613% in July, rising to 30,669 shares from 826 shares; however, that represents 0.0% of shares outstanding and only 0.3 days to cover.
• EBKDY traded at $69.39, near its 52-week high of $71.09, with a $53.9 billion market capitalization. The stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $65.10 and $60.99, respectively.
• Erste Group exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.44 versus $1.43 expected and revenue of $4.62 billion versus $4.48 billion forecast. Analysts maintained an overall “Buy” rating, with recent upgrades from Oddo Bhf and Zacks Research.

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 30,669 shares, an increase of 3,613.0% from the July 15th total of 826 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 87,711 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Erste Group Bank Price Performance

EBKDY stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.39. 23,843 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 76,362. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.99. Erste Group Bank has a 52-week low of $46.84 and a 52-week high of $71.09. The company has a market capitalization of $53.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Erste Group Bank had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 11.32%. As a group, analysts forecast that Erste Group Bank will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EBKDY shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oddo Bhf upgraded shares of Erste Group Bank from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Erste Group Bank from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

About Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austrian banking group headquartered in Vienna that operates as a universal bank serving retail, corporate and institutional customers. The group offers a broad range of financial services including deposit-taking, lending, mortgage financing, payment and transaction banking, and wealth management. Erste Group also provides capital markets services, corporate and investment banking solutions, and a range of insurance and pension-linked products through partnerships and subsidiary operations.

Erste Group maintains a significant regional presence beyond Austria, with operations across several Central and Eastern European countries.

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