Short Interest in Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) Grows By 11.6%

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,300 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the December 15th total of 16,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 6,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total transaction of $110,230.20. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.97, for a total value of $84,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 57,838 shares in the company, valued at $981,510.86. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,795 shares of company stock valued at $213,610 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bancorp Montana

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 45,699 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 25.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 3.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Performance

EBMT stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $15.25. The company had a trading volume of 9,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,397. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.44. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a one year low of $12.32 and a one year high of $17.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.31 million, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.53. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $31.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.60 million. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 4.96%. Research analysts anticipate that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

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.