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

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,600 shares, a growth of 65.5% from the February 28th total of 48,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 55,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRBA. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Bank by 1,307.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,737,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,803,000 after acquiring an additional 6,259,053 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of First Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,872,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in First Bank by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in First Bank by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 144,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,033,000 after buying an additional 68,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in First Bank by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 40,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Price Performance

Shares of First Bank stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $14.67. 42,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,716. First Bank has a 52 week low of $11.20 and a 52 week high of $15.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.09 million, a P/E ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.94.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. Research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.37%.

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.