First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday.

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

First Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRBA opened at $14.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Bank has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $15.87. The company has a market capitalization of $291.79 million, a PE ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.96.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $58.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Bank by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 7,413 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in First Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,703,000 after purchasing an additional 161,761 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Bank by 4.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Bank by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in First Bank by 6.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 22,452 shares in the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.