Short Interest in SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) Drops By 15.8%

SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,400 shares, a drop of 15.8% from the September 30th total of 7,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBFG. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SB Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $146,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in SB Financial Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L raised its stake in SB Financial Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 48,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on SB Financial Group in a report on Saturday, September 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

SB Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBFG traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.10. 2,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. SB Financial Group has a 1-year low of $12.85 and a 1-year high of $21.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.60 and its 200-day moving average is $15.83. The stock has a market cap of $128.54 million, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.74.

SB Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from SB Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. SB Financial Group’s payout ratio is 32.18%.

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.