Short Interest in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Rises By 16.6%

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 56,300 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the January 15th total of 48,300 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 50,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of First Bank by 27.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRBA traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,309. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.41 and a 200-day moving average of $14.68. First Bank has a 12 month low of $11.20 and a 12 month high of $15.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $297.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.95.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. First Bank’s payout ratio is 14.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FRBA shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.