Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Upgraded to Moderate Buy at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FRST. Wall Street Zen lowered Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Primis Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.00.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRST opened at $14.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.25 million, a PE ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.54. Primis Financial has a 12 month low of $7.59 and a 12 month high of $14.55.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.01 million. Primis Financial had a return on equity of 3.99% and a net margin of 18.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Primis Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Matthew Alan Switzer bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.06 per share, for a total transaction of $35,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 96,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,937.56. This represents a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 7,025 shares of company stock valued at $92,961 in the last ninety days. 10.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRST. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 12.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 4,864 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 11.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 170.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 248,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after buying an additional 156,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 65.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Primis Financial Company Profile

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.