SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,800 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the April 30th total of 13,900 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 21,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SB Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

SBFG traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $18.23. The company had a trading volume of 20,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,381. SB Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $13.20 and a fifty-two week high of $24.48. The stock has a market cap of $119.06 million, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $19.17 and its 200 day moving average is $20.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $15.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.30 million. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from SB Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. SB Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SB Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBFG. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SB Financial Group by 1,991.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 588,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 560,646 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 22,321 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of SB Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $350,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 123.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 12,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 41.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.67% of the company's stock.

About SB Financial Group

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.