First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSFG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSFG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,700 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the February 29th total of 9,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSFG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Savings Financial Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 245,237 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Savings Financial Group by 53.2% during the first quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 190,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,677,000 after purchasing an additional 66,173 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in First Savings Financial Group by 9.8% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 127,195 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of First Savings Financial Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,959 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Savings Financial Group by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 56,543 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,300,000 after buying an additional 4,185 shares in the last quarter. 35.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FSFG. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Savings Financial Group in a research note on Sunday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on First Savings Financial Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th.

First Savings Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

FSFG traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,788. First Savings Financial Group has a twelve month low of $11.74 and a twelve month high of $18.54. The stock has a market cap of $113.93 million, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $16.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

First Savings Financial Group (NASDAQ:FSFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. First Savings Financial Group had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $16.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.70 million. On average, analysts expect that First Savings Financial Group will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

First Savings Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from First Savings Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. First Savings Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

About First Savings Financial Group

First Savings Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Savings Bank that provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in southern Indiana. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, SBA Lending, and Mortgage Banking. It accepts deposits, such as checking accounts, NOW and money market accounts, regular savings accounts, and time deposits.