First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Update

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,600 shares, a growth of 65.5% from the February 28th total of 48,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 55,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

First Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRBA traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.67. 42,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,716. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.70. First Bank has a 52-week low of $11.20 and a 52-week high of $15.87. The company has a market cap of $287.09 million, a P/E ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.37%.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRBA. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in First Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bank during the 4th quarter worth $98,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of First Bank by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in First Bank by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,452 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

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.