Insider Buying: Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Director Acquires 1,550 Shares of Stock

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas bought 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.75 per share, with a total value of $19,762.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 90,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,742.25. This trade represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

FRST traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.85. 29,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,073. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.55 million, a P/E ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Primis Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $7.59 and a 52-week high of $14.55.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $80.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.01 million. Primis Financial had a return on equity of 4.11% and a net margin of 18.78%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Primis Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $750,000.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Primis Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourthstone LLC grew its holdings in Primis Financial by 219.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 576,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,252,000 after buying an additional 395,924 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 7.1% during the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 527,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,722,000 after acquiring an additional 34,950 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 18.0% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 149,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Primis Financial by 154.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Primis Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Primis Financial Company Profile

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.