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

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Bancorp Montana news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 6,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total value of $110,230.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 7,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $105,300.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,064.92. This trade represents a 10.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,694 shares of company stock valued at $255,411. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 17.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,490 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 520,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,221,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $988,000 after buying an additional 7,382 shares during the last quarter. 35.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Performance

Shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana stock traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $16.50. 21,726 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,240. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.52. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a twelve month low of $11.81 and a twelve month high of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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

Eagle Bancorp Montana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.142 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Eagle Bancorp Montana’s payout ratio is 52.78%.

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.