First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Up 14.4% in April
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemFirst Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 161,068 shares, a growth of 14.4% from the March 31st total of 140,835 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,938 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.0 days.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FGBI
First Guaranty Bancshares Trading Down 2.4%
Shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,598. First Guaranty Bancshares has a twelve month low of $4.31 and a twelve month high of $10.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.94 and a 200-day moving average of $7.54. The stock has a market cap of $146.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.
First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 16.79% and a negative net margin of 21.47%.The business had revenue of $22.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 million. Research analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.
First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is -1.25%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Bruce Mcanally acquired 32,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.77 per share, with a total value of $250,007.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 332,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,804.72. This represents a 10.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marshall T. Reynolds acquired 32,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $250,007.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,025,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,741,996.69. The trade was a 1.61% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 202,435 shares of company stock valued at $1,572,920. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 10,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,606 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.
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.