Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Shares Cross Above 50-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.63 and traded as high as $40.67. Erste Group Bank shares last traded at $40.58, with a volume of 46,861 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Erste Group Bank Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.76 and its 200 day moving average is $33.73.

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

Erste Group Bank Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $1.1657 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a yield of 2.89%. Erste Group Bank's payout ratio is 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.