First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 119,600 shares, an increase of 24.2% from the June 15th total of 96,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

First Bank Trading Up 2.9 %

First Bank stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $14.20. The stock had a trading volume of 145,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,166. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.93. First Bank has a 52 week low of $10.51 and a 52 week high of $15.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $277.89 million, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.95.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.06. First Bank had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $32.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.50 million. Analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of First Bank by 88.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,013 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank in the first quarter worth $283,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank in the first quarter worth $293,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bank by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,511 shares of the bank’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRBA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Bank from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th.

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.