First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

First Bank Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ FRBA traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.02. The stock had a trading volume of 42,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,667. First Bank has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $15.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). First Bank had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 18.19%. The business had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRBA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Bank by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,612,000 after acquiring an additional 7,413 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in First Bank by 24.0% during the third 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Bank by 4.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,633,000 after buying an additional 38,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Bank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in First Bank by 6.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,838,000 after buying an additional 22,452 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

About First Bank

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.