Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $68.39 and closing near $67.74, up about 2% during the session.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating based on one Strong Buy, four Buys, two Holds, and one Sell, although Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• The bank slightly exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.44 in EPS versus a $1.43 estimate and $4.62 billion in revenue versus $4.48 billion expected; analysts project $5.84 in EPS for the full fiscal year.

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $68.39 and last traded at $67.74, with a volume of 157089 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBKDY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Erste Group Bank to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Erste Group Bank has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Erste Group Bank Trading Up 2.0%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.01. Erste Group Bank had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Erste Group Bank AG will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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