First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on FRBA. DA Davidson lowered shares of First Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bank in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.25.

First Bank Trading Down 1.1%

FRBA opened at $16.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.90. First Bank has a 52-week low of $12.74 and a 52-week high of $18.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. First Bank had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 17.27%.The firm had revenue of $37.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. First Bank’s payout ratio is currently 14.46%.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in First Bank by 117.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in First Bank by 200.4% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 6,077 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 118.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 91.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of First Bank by 21.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Company Profile

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.