First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

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

First Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRBA opened at $14.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $288.07 million, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.94. First Bank has a 52-week low of $11.20 and a 52-week high of $15.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.00.

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

First Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of First Bank in the third quarter valued at $3,872,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in First Bank by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,462 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 20,602 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of First Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 6.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,838,000 after buying an additional 22,452 shares in the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.