Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Short Interest Up 5.4% in October

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,700 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 11,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBMT traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.44. 18,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,228. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a twelve month low of $11.81 and a twelve month high of $17.65. The firm has a market cap of $131.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.52.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $31.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.60 million. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 7.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.142 per share. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Eagle Bancorp Montana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 6,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total transaction of $110,230.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 141,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,318,582.52. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 7,374 shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total transaction of $105,300.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 61,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,064.92. This represents a 10.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,694 shares of company stock worth $255,411. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bancorp Montana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 7,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 11,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.66% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts.