Short Interest in F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) Drops By 5.9%

F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,910,000 shares, a drop of 5.9% from the March 31st total of 10,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William B. Campbell bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.41 per share, with a total value of $33,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 145,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,653.08. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $87,505 over the last 90 days. 1.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of F.N.B.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in F.N.B. during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of F.N.B. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of F.N.B. in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of F.N.B. by 272.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of F.N.B. by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of F.N.B. from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of F.N.B. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of F.N.B. from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of F.N.B. from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of F.N.B. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

F.N.B. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FNB opened at $13.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 1.00. F.N.B. has a fifty-two week low of $10.09 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. F.N.B. had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $406.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that F.N.B. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

F.N.B. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. F.N.B.’s payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance.