SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

SBFG has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SB Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SB Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

SB Financial Group Stock Up 5.0%

SBFG stock opened at $19.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $124.47 million, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.61. SB Financial Group has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $24.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $16.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.30 million. SB Financial Group had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 9.57%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SB Financial Group will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SB Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This is an increase from SB Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. SB Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBFG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SB Financial Group by 98.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 73,771 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SB Financial Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 78,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in SB Financial Group by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,832 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in SB Financial Group in the second quarter worth $524,000. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in SB Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $439,000. 66.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.