Short Interest in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Declines By 12.6%

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the January 31st total of 2,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 621,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Interstate BancSystem

In other news, Director John M. Heyneman, Jr. sold 1,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.56, for a total transaction of $43,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,414,886 shares in the company, valued at $46,068,688.16. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the third quarter worth $34,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the third quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FIBK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lowered their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.14.

First Interstate BancSystem Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock opened at $28.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. First Interstate BancSystem has a 52 week low of $24.16 and a 52 week high of $36.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.84.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 15.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. First Interstate BancSystem’s payout ratio is 85.84%.

First Interstate BancSystem Company Profile

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.