First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Update

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 481,045 shares, a growth of 190.1% from the June 15th total of 165,848 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 113,101 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce Mcanally acquired 109,051 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.17 per share, with a total value of $999,997.67. Following the acquisition, the director owned 441,587 shares in the company, valued at $4,049,352.79. This represents a 32.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Edgar R. Smith III acquired 109,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.17 per share, for a total transaction of $999,997.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 784,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,192,948. The trade was a 16.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FGBI. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 6,442 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 6,606 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 10,641 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ FGBI traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $9.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 51,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,726. First Guaranty Bancshares has a twelve month low of $4.31 and a twelve month high of $11.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.28 million, a P/E ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.76 and a 200 day moving average of $8.86.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 17.06%. Equities research analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is -1.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FGBI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Guaranty Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

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.