SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 23,329 shares, a decrease of 37.1% from the June 30th total of 37,080 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 31,114 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

SB Financial Group Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of SBFG traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.73. 219 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,084. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.39. SB Financial Group has a 52 week low of $18.16 and a 52 week high of $27.68. The company has a market cap of $161.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.19.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $18.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 million. SB Financial Group had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 11.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that SB Financial Group will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

SB Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. SB Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 23.88%.

Institutional Trading of SB Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in SB Financial Group in the first quarter worth $350,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of SB Financial Group by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of SB Financial Group by 123.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 12,224 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 98.3% during the 2nd 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 period. 66.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of SB Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SB Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBFG) is the bank holding company for Star Financial Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company offers a broad portfolio of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, and cash management services.

In its commercial banking division, SB Financial Group provides working capital loans, equipment financing, commercial real estate lending and treasury management solutions designed for small- and mid-sized businesses.