Empowered Funds LLC Increases Holdings in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) by 5.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,509 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in First Bank were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bank by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after acquiring an additional 7,413 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Bank by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,633,000 after purchasing an additional 38,256 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 4.7% in the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 347,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,425,000 after buying an additional 15,513 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC grew its position in First Bank by 0.4% during the third quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 187,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in First Bank by 9.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 124,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 10,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ FRBA opened at $14.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. First Bank has a 12 month low of $11.20 and a 12 month high of $15.87. The stock has a market cap of $285.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.92.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). First Bank had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 11.80%. The firm 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 posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRBA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

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.