First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Update

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 96,300 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the May 31st total of 89,300 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

First Bank Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FRBA traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.87. 24,610 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,122. First Bank has a fifty-two week low of $10.25 and a fifty-two week high of $15.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $251.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.06.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $32.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.50 million. First Bank had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. First Bank’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Bank from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IAM Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in First Bank by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 184,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in First Bank by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,511 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,655 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Bank by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 673,987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,908,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

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.