Short Interest in First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSFG) Declines By 9.2%

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSFG) saw a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,900 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the August 15th total of 8,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Savings Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Savings Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on First Savings Financial Group from $20.00 to $26.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Savings Financial Group

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in First Savings Financial Group stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSFG) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,930 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.44% of First Savings Financial Group worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 35.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Savings Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ FSFG traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.50. 4,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,654. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.44. First Savings Financial Group has a 1 year low of $13.20 and a 1 year high of $24.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $161.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.74.

First Savings Financial Group (NASDAQ:FSFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. First Savings Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $17.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.60 million. On average, analysts predict that First Savings Financial Group will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Savings Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. First Savings Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

About First Savings Financial Group

First Savings Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Savings Bank that provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in southern Indiana. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, SBA Lending, and Mortgage Banking. It accepts deposits, such as checking accounts, NOW and money market accounts, regular savings accounts, and time deposits.