Short Interest in SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Decreases By 29.0%

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,200 shares, a decrease of 29.0% from the March 31st total of 36,900 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 18,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of SBFG stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.69. The company had a trading volume of 22,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,636. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $19.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.64. SB Financial Group has a 52-week low of $13.20 and a 52-week high of $24.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $128.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.48.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. SB Financial Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $15.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.30 million. Research analysts anticipate that SB Financial Group will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SB Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is an increase from SB Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. SB Financial Group's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Institutional Trading of SB Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBFG. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SB Financial Group by 1,991.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 588,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 560,646 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SB Financial Group by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 34,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 22,321 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in SB Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $408,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SB Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in SB Financial Group by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 7,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.67% of the company's stock.

SB Financial Group Company Profile

SB Financial Group, Inc operates as the financial holding company for the State Bank and Trust Company that provides a range of commercial banking and wealth management services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. It offers checking, savings, money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, agricultural, and residential mortgage loans.