StockNews.com Upgrades SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

SB Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of SBFG stock opened at $19.40 on Monday. SB Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $13.20 and a fifty-two week high of $24.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.70 million, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.30 million. SB Financial Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 8.98%. Equities research analysts predict that SB Financial Group will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SB Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from SB Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. SB Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Trading of SB Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBFG. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SB Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 75,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SB Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 7,370 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of SB Financial Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 164,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SB Financial Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 71,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 66.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.