First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Short Interest Down 15.4% in July

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) saw a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a drop of 15.4% from the July 15th total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 658,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FIBK traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.27. The company had a trading volume of 496,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. First Interstate BancSystem has a 1-year low of $20.81 and a 1-year high of $33.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.82.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.03. First Interstate BancSystem had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. First Interstate BancSystem’s payout ratio is 74.90%.

Insider Activity at First Interstate BancSystem

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 923,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,397,000 after acquiring an additional 71,839 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,630,000 after purchasing an additional 42,580 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 146,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 31,710 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FIBK shares. StockNews.com upgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Interstate BancSystem from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

About First Interstate BancSystem

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.