Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) Short Interest Up 44.0% in December

Erste Group Bank AG (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 45,196 shares, an increase of 44.0% from the December 15th total of 31,390 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 87,303 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 87,303 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBKDY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oddo Bhf downgraded Erste Group Bank to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Erste Group Bank in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Erste Group Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Erste Group Bank Stock Performance

EBKDY opened at $61.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.18. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. Erste Group Bank has a 1-year low of $29.50 and a 1-year high of $62.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Erste Group Bank (OTCMKTS:EBKDY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.30 billion. Erste Group Bank had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 17.36%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Erste Group Bank will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank AG is an Austrian banking group headquartered in Vienna that operates as a universal bank serving retail, corporate and institutional customers. The group offers a broad range of financial services including deposit-taking, lending, mortgage financing, payment and transaction banking, and wealth management. Erste Group also provides capital markets services, corporate and investment banking solutions, and a range of insurance and pension-linked products through partnerships and subsidiary operations.

Erste Group maintains a significant regional presence beyond Austria, with operations across several Central and Eastern European countries.