First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Purchases $250,007.52 in Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Bruce Mcanally bought 32,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.77 per share, with a total value of $250,007.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 332,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,804.72. The trade was a 10.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of FGBI stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $9.20. 34,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,950. The company has a market cap of $141.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.37. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.31 and a 1-year high of $10.55.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position 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. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Guaranty Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

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.