Hovde Group Upgrades FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) to “Outperform”

Hovde Group upgraded shares of FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Hovde Group currently has $40.50 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on FBK. StockNews.com cut shares of FB Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of FB Financial from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FB Financial has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $39.43.

FB Financial Stock Performance

FBK stock opened at $36.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.17. FB Financial has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $41.00.

FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $116.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.58 million. FB Financial had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 10.20%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that FB Financial will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

FB Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is a positive change from FB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. FB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder James W. Ayers purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.35 per share, with a total value of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,886,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,736,670.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder James W. Ayers bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.91 per share, with a total value of $107,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,884,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $390,874,640.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder James W. Ayers bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $36.35 per share, for a total transaction of $72,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,886,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,736,670.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $256,830 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FB Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,169,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,833,000 after purchasing an additional 348,790 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of FB Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $13,000,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FB Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $11,237,000. Wasatch Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 1,579,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,169,000 after purchasing an additional 237,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,060,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,243,000 after purchasing an additional 220,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

About FB Financial

FB Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank that provides a suite of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates in segments, such as Banking and Mortgage. It offers checking, demand, money market, and savings accounts; deposit and lending products and services to corporate, commercial, and consumer customers; and time deposits and certificates of deposits, as well as residential mortgage loans.