Short Interest in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Grows By 7.8%

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 96,300 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the May 31st total of 89,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

First Bank Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of FRBA stock traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $12.64. The stock had a trading volume of 15,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,874. First Bank has a one year low of $10.25 and a one year high of $15.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.05. The company has a market cap of $247.36 million, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.06. First Bank had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $32.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.50 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on First Bank from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP bought a new position in First Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Minerva Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Bank in the third quarter worth $443,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank in the 4th quarter worth $165,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in First Bank by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,511 shares of the bank’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in First Bank by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 673,987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,908,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.