Short Interest in F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) Declines By 14.0%

F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,730,000 shares, a decline of 14.0% from the July 15th total of 7,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On F.N.B.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of F.N.B. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of F.N.B. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of F.N.B. by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of F.N.B. by 272.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of F.N.B. by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.25% of the company’s stock.

F.N.B. Stock Performance

NYSE:FNB traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $14.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 811,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,236,087. F.N.B. has a 12-month low of $10.24 and a 12-month high of $15.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.98.

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). F.N.B. had a net margin of 18.27% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The business had revenue of $403.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $408.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. F.N.B.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that F.N.B. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

F.N.B. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. F.N.B.’s payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FNB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on F.N.B. from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of F.N.B. in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of F.N.B. in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered F.N.B. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, F.N.B. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.29.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance.