Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Stake in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 76,233 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.39% of First Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in First Bank by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 72,764 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in First Bank by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in First Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $294,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in First Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $827,000. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC raised its holdings in First Bank by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 187,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Trading Down 0.7 %

FRBA stock opened at $14.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $288.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.00. First Bank has a 52 week low of $11.20 and a 52 week high of $15.87.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released 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 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. First Bank’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FRBA. StockNews.com upgraded First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reiterated 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.

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.