Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. Reduces Holdings in First Bank $FRBA

Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,831,437 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the quarter. First Bank comprises 9.4% of Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.’s holdings in First Bank were worth $30,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Bank by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,268,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,665,000 after buying an additional 12,470 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Bank by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,988,000 after buying an additional 14,759 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of First Bank by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 564,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,189,000 after buying an additional 271,825 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Bank by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 193,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,156,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 144,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,348,000 after buying an additional 47,397 shares in the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bank Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of First Bank stock opened at $15.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $385.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.22. First Bank has a fifty-two week low of $14.34 and a fifty-two week high of $18.11.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $36.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.99 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 17.02%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. First Bank’s payout ratio is presently 21.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FRBA. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Bank in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on First Bank from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

About First Bank

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. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans.