First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,000 shares, a drop of 5.9% from the October 31st total of 40,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IAM Advisory LLC boosted its stake in First Bank by 0.4% during the third quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 187,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bank by 2.1% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 72,764 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Bank by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 60,582 shares of the bank’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bank by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bank by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 5,105 shares during the period. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bank Stock Performance

Shares of FRBA stock opened at $15.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.55 million, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Bank has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $15.87.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.