First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $19.95 and last traded at $19.9220, with a volume of 66,314 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Bank from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded First Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of First Bank from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded First Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.67.

First Bank Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.90 and a 200-day moving average of $17.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $494.22 million, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.57.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.05. First Bank had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $38.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.70 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is an increase from First Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. First Bank’s payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Bank by 3,353.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,437 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 14,990 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $283,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in First Bank in the second quarter worth about $12,836,000. 64.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Bank

First Bank (NASDAQ: FRBA) is a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the bank provides banking services to businesses, individuals and organizations in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, cash-management services and online banking. First Bank emphasizes relationship-based banking and serves small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

First Bank operates a network of branches in central and southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region.