First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

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

First Bank Stock Performance

Shares of FRBA opened at $14.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.97 million, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Bank has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $15.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.88.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.96 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Bank will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRBA. 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of First Bank by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 38,256 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Bank by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 22,452 shares during the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.