Swedbank AB (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 104.5% to 39,588 shares as of March 13 (up from 19,358 on Feb 26), with a short-interest ratio of 0.6 days and shorted shares reported as approximately 0.0% of float.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed and tilted negative—one Strong Buy, three Holds and three Sells—leaving an average rating of "Reduce" after recent downgrades and underweight reiterations from major firms.
• Swedbank recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS SEK 0.77 vs. SEK 0.67 estimate; revenue SEK 1.84B vs. 1.79B), and the bank shows solid profitability metrics (net margin 30.27%, ROE 15.5%) with a market cap of about $40.7B and a P/E of 12.23.

Swedbank AB (OTCMKTS:SWDBY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 39,588 shares, a growth of 104.5% from the February 26th total of 19,358 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 66,979 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWDBY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Swedbank in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Swedbank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research raised Swedbank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Swedbank in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Swedbank in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Swedbank Stock Performance

Shares of SWDBY opened at SEK 36.20 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is SEK 37.94 and its 200 day moving average price is SEK 33.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.69. Swedbank has a 1-year low of SEK 19.16 and a 1-year high of SEK 40.58.

Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported SEK 0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of SEK 0.67 by SEK 0.10. Swedbank had a net margin of 30.27% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company had revenue of SEK 1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of SEK 1.79 billion. Analysts expect that Swedbank will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Swedbank Company Profile

Swedbank AB is a major Swedish banking group headquartered in Stockholm that provides a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients. The bank's operations focus on traditional banking functions such as deposit-taking, lending and payment services, as well as wealth management and insurance solutions. Swedbank's franchise is centered on serving households, small and medium-sized enterprises and larger corporate customers, with an emphasis on everyday banking and long-term client relationships.

Products and services offered by Swedbank include savings and current accounts, mortgages and consumer lending, business loans and transaction banking, payment and card services, and digital banking platforms.

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