DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 311.3% in September

Key Points

• DNB Bank ASA’s short interest surged 311.3% to 47,995 shares as of September 15, though short interest remained negligible at approximately 0.0% of shares outstanding.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed but leaned toward “Hold”: two analysts rated the stock Buy, four Hold, and two Sell, with recent calls including a Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell.
• The stock rose 0.8% to $33.53, near its 12-month high, while the bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.69—above the $0.66 consensus estimate—and revenue of $2.31 billion.

DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 47,995 shares, an increase of 311.3% from the August 31st total of 11,668 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 68,221 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of DNB Bank ASA in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of DNB Bank ASA from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of DNB Bank ASA in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of DNB Bank ASA in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

DNB Bank ASA Stock Up 0.8%

OTCMKTS:DNBBY traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $33.53. The stock had a trading volume of 29,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,618. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.92 and a 200 day moving average of $31.48. The stock has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.65. DNB Bank ASA has a 12-month low of $25.26 and a 12-month high of $34.78.

DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. DNB Bank ASA had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 21.34%. On average, research analysts predict that DNB Bank ASA will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

DNB Bank ASA Company Profile

DNB Bank ASA is a Norwegian financial services group headquartered in Oslo. It serves individuals, businesses, institutional customers and public-sector organizations through banking, financing and investment services. DNB is widely regarded as Norway's largest bank and has a central role in the country's financial system.

The company offers personal and business banking products, including deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, consumer finance, corporate lending and leasing. Through its corporate and investment banking operations, DNB provides advisory services, capital markets solutions, securities services and financing for companies and institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.