Insider Buying: Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Director Buys $24,640.00 in Stock

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas bought 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.80 per share, for a total transaction of $24,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 91,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,883.20. This represents a 2.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

John Fitzgerald Biagas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 11th, John Fitzgerald Biagas purchased 1,550 shares of Primis Financial stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.75 per share, with a total value of $19,762.50.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FRST stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.76. 25,370 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,452. Primis Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $7.59 and a 12-month high of $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $314.50 million, a P/E ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.06.

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

Primis Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $750,000.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 16.6% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,301,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after purchasing an additional 185,083 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. purchased a new stake in Primis Financial during the third quarter valued at $12,796,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Primis Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,210,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 17,712 shares in the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its position in Primis Financial by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,203,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 228,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,091,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,467,000 after buying an additional 336,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.