Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.91 and last traded at $41.72, with a volume of 24708 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EBKDY. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut Erste Group Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Erste Group Bank Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.03.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.14). The firm 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Erste Group Bank AG will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Erste Group Bank Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $1.1657 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a yield of 2.89%. Erste Group Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

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.