First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Update

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 74,700 shares, a decrease of 17.6% from the August 15th total of 90,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 54,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in First Bank in the second quarter worth about $162,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Bank by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,633,000 after purchasing an additional 38,256 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in First Bank by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 97,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bank by 1,377.1% in the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 21,935 shares of the bank’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 20,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank during the second quarter worth $71,000. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bank Price Performance

FRBA opened at $15.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.34 million, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.25. First Bank has a 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $15.80.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $56.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.95 million. First Bank had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 12.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. First Bank’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Bank from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th.

About First Bank

First Bank provides various banking products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as commercial checking accounts.