Short Interest in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Grows By 6.8%

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,700 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the September 30th total of 42,800 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 46,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Bank in the third quarter valued at $113,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in First Bank by 88.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,013 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in First Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $162,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bank by 1,377.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 21,935 shares of the bank’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 20,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FRBA shares. StockNews.com cut First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday.

First Bank Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FRBA traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.14. 3,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,887. First Bank has a twelve month low of $11.20 and a twelve month high of $15.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.65. The company has a market capitalization of $276.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.96 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Bank will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. First Bank’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

First Bank Company Profile

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.