Short Interest in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Grows By 6.8%

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,700 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the September 30th total of 42,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 46,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRBA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $293,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bank by 14.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in First Bank by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in First Bank by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bank by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 7,413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Price Performance

Shares of First Bank stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,887. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.65. First Bank has a 12-month low of $11.20 and a 12-month high of $15.87. The company has a market capitalization of $276.71 million, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.96 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. First Bank’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

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.