First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Down 5.9% in November

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,000 shares, a drop of 5.9% from the October 31st total of 40,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 41,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the second quarter worth $71,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the third quarter worth $113,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the second quarter worth $162,000. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the third quarter worth $199,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bank by 1,377.1% during the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 21,935 shares of the bank’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 20,450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Trading Up 1.4 %

FRBA traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $15.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,593. The company has a market cap of $297.46 million, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.94. First Bank has a 12-month low of $11.20 and a 12-month high of $15.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.07.

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). First Bank had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 11.80%. The business had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FRBA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th.

First Bank Company Profile

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.