First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Update

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 42,000 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 44,900 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 44,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FRBA. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in First Bank by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 188,198 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $98,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of First Bank by 217.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of First Bank in the third quarter worth about $3,872,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Price Performance

First Bank stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $13.82. 38,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,559. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.33 and its 200-day moving average is $14.53. The firm has a market cap of $270.46 million, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Bank has a 52 week low of $11.20 and a 52 week high of $15.87.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $32.96 million. First Bank had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 11.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. 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.