First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

First Bank Stock Performance

First Bank stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.88. 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 52 week low of $11.20 and a 52 week high of $15.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.97 million, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.94.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.96 million. First Bank had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 11.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in First Bank in the third quarter valued at approximately $827,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 0.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Bank by 4.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,633,000 after purchasing an additional 38,256 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank in the second quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in First Bank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $283,000. 64.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.