Short Interest in Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Grows By 17.9%

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,800 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the October 31st total of 11,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 6,705 shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total transaction of $110,230.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 141,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,318,582.52. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.97, for a total value of $84,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 57,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,510.86. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,795 shares of company stock valued at $213,610. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bancorp Montana

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBMT. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 14.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 171,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 21,441 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 17.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,133 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 11,490 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 13.4% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,382 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 1.1% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 520,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 93,172 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares in the last quarter. 35.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Eagle Bancorp Montana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EBMT opened at $17.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a 52-week low of $12.32 and a 52-week high of $17.65. The company has a market cap of $140.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Eagle Bancorp Montana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.142 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Eagle Bancorp Montana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.78%.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Company Profile

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.