First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.59 and traded as high as $8.13. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $8.04, with a volume of 34,491 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FGBI shares. Zacks Research raised First Guaranty Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.44 million, a PE ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The bank reported ($3.01) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.10 million for the quarter. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 25.11% and a negative return on equity of 20.76%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is -0.97%.

Insider Activity at First Guaranty Bancshares

In related news, Director Robert W. Walker acquired 5,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.53 per share, for a total transaction of $26,024.85. Following the purchase, the director owned 51,121 shares in the company, valued at $231,578.13. This represents a 12.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally bought 92,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.40 per share, with a total value of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 300,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,944. This represents a 44.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 382,438 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,197. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

An institutional investor recently raised its position in First Guaranty Bancshares stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.38% of First Guaranty Bancshares worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.