First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Up 14.4% in April

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 161,068 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the March 31st total of 140,835 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,938 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.0 days.

Insider Activity at First Guaranty Bancshares

In related news, Director Bruce Mcanally acquired 32,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.77 per share, with a total value of $250,007.52. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 332,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,804.72. The trade was a 10.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Edgar R. Smith III acquired 138,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.77 per share, with a total value of $1,072,904.91. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 675,349 shares in the company, valued at $5,247,461.73. This represents a 25.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 202,435 shares of company stock valued at $1,572,920. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FGBI. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 3,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Guaranty Bancshares Trading Up 3.2%

First Guaranty Bancshares stock opened at $9.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.94 and its 200-day moving average is $7.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 1 year low of $4.31 and a 1 year high of $10.07. The company has a market cap of $149.69 million, a P/E ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.32.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $22.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.15 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.