Short Interest in SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Grows By 3,342.1%

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 130,800 shares, a growth of 3,342.1% from the December 15th total of 3,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of SB Financial Group in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBFG traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,494. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.45. The stock has a market cap of $131.31 million, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SB Financial Group has a 52 week low of $13.01 and a 52 week high of $23.00.

SB Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from SB Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. SB Financial Group’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBFG. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 71,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.67% of the company’s stock.

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.