First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Short Interest Up 16.6% in January

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 56,300 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the January 15th total of 48,300 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 50,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FRBA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

First Bank Price Performance

Shares of FRBA traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $15.20. 25,880 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,309. First Bank has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $297.46 million, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.40 and a 200-day moving average of $14.68.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bank will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Bank by 1,307.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,737,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,803,000 after buying an additional 6,259,053 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in First Bank by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 890,825 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,534,000 after acquiring an additional 26,500 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Bank by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 890,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,529,000 after acquiring an additional 23,012 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 161,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Bank by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

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.