Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Hovde Group began coverage on Eagle Bancorp Montana in a research report on Friday, July 5th. They set a market perform rating and a $13.50 price objective on the stock.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Down 0.4 %

EBMT stock opened at $14.99 on Friday. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $17.65. The stock has a market cap of $120.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.06 and its 200 day moving average is $13.33.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.06). Eagle Bancorp Montana had a return on equity of 5.07% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $30.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.50 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.142 dividend. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Eagle Bancorp Montana’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Eagle Bancorp Montana’s payout ratio is presently 50.89%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Bancorp Montana

In other news, Director Peter Joseph Johnson sold 7,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total transaction of $105,300.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,064.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,079 shares of company stock valued at $129,171. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Bancorp Montana

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 105.1% in the 1st quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 52,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 26,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 93,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,236,000 after buying an additional 2,937 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased 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 valued at $2,254,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,193 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,638,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.66% of the company’s stock.

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.