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

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 116,500 shares, a growth of 46.4% from the February 13th total of 79,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBFG. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of SB Financial Group by 325.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in SB Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in SB Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in SB Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $408,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in SB Financial Group by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 7,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.67% of the company’s stock.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

SB Financial Group stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.35. 12,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,834. The firm has a market cap of $126.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.43 and a 200 day moving average of $20.45. SB Financial Group has a 12 month low of $13.01 and a 12 month high of $24.48.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. SB Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 14.10%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SB Financial Group will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

SB Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. SB Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 33.72%.

SB Financial Group Company Profile

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.