Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 76.7% in September

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 16,670 shares, an increase of 76.7% from the August 31st total of 9,434 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 84,211 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Erste Group Bank Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of EBKDY traded down $3.35 on Thursday, reaching $65.15. 12,366 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,793. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.36. Erste Group Bank has a 12 month low of $47.02 and a 12 month high of $73.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.01. Erste Group Bank had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Erste Group Bank will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EBKDY shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Erste Group Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Erste Group Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded Erste Group Bank from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austria-based banking group serving retail customers, small and medium-sized businesses, corporate clients, and institutional customers. Its services include current and savings accounts, consumer and housing loans, mortgages, payment services, investment products, insurance-related offerings, corporate finance, and capital-markets services.

The group has its roots in Erste österreichische Spar-Casse, founded in Vienna in 1819. Through its banking subsidiaries, Erste Group provides financial services across Austria and several Central and Eastern European markets, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia.