Insider Buying: First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Purchases $250,000.80 in Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Marshall Reynolds acquired 31,056 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.05 per share, for a total transaction of $250,000.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,947,524 shares in the company, valued at $15,677,568.20. This trade represents a 1.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FGBI opened at $8.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.36 million, a PE ratio of -8.73 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.55. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $6.55 and a one year high of $15.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The bank reported ($0.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $54.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.20 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 4.73% and a negative net margin of 4.49%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FGBI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in 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 period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 14.0% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,236 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares during the period. 39.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.