First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,700 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the December 15th total of 11,600 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 11,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FGBI traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $10.82. 5,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,573. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.20 and its 200 day moving average is $10.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Guaranty Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $8.39 and a fifty-two week high of $15.25.

First Guaranty Bancshares Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.76%.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FGBI. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $366,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $138,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,788 shares of the bank’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.