First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Update

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 42,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 44,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 44,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FRBA. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAM Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bank by 0.4% in the third quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 187,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in First Bank by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Bank by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 60,582 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First Bank by 5.3% in the third 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 last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bank Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRBA traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.82. The stock had a trading volume of 38,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,559. First Bank has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $15.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $270.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.95.

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

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. First Bank’s payout ratio is currently 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.