First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Short Interest Update

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the June 30th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 655,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Performance

First Interstate BancSystem stock opened at $32.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.82. First Interstate BancSystem has a fifty-two week low of $20.81 and a fifty-two week high of $33.00.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.03. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 17.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. First Interstate BancSystem’s payout ratio is currently 74.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FIBK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com downgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Interstate BancSystem news, major shareholder Julie A. Scott sold 209,831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.29, for a total transaction of $5,306,625.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 879,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,251,887.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jonathan R. Scott sold 29,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.29, for a total value of $746,029.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,021,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,857.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Julie A. Scott sold 209,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.29, for a total value of $5,306,625.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 879,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,251,887.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,453,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,219 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Interstate BancSystem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,584,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,590,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,418,000 after buying an additional 620,682 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,180,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,303,000 after buying an additional 533,293 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,970,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,350,000 after acquiring an additional 142,069 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Interstate BancSystem Company Profile

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.