First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

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

First Bank Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRBA opened at $14.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $291.79 million, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.96. First Bank has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $15.87.

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

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank during the third quarter worth about $827,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bank by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 7,413 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First Bank by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,633,000 after buying an additional 38,256 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank during the second quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank during the first quarter worth $283,000. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.