First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.45 and traded as low as $8.09. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $8.09, with a volume of 61,845 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FGBI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Guaranty Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Guaranty Bancshares from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.18.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.08. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 16.83% and a negative return on equity of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $24.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 million. Analysts predict that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently -1.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert W. Walker purchased 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $92,735.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 62,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,195.11. The trade was a 15.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Smith, III purchased 99,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.28 per share, with a total value of $822,013.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 958,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,936,570.44. This trade represents a 11.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 118,107 shares of company stock valued at $1,104,160. Company insiders own 49.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

An institutional investor recently raised its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) by 1,288.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,442 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, is a community bank that serves individuals, businesses and institutions through a network of banking offices in Louisiana and Texas.

First Guaranty Bank offers a range of traditional banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, and commercial and industrial loans.