Short Interest in Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Drops By 13.2%

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 182,984 shares, a decrease of 13.2% from the February 12th total of 210,723 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 96,408 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 96,408 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRST. Wall Street Zen lowered Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Primis Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primis Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1.00.

Insider Activity

In other Primis Financial news, EVP Matthew Alan Switzer acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.06 per share, with a total value of $35,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 96,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,937.56. This represents a 2.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 7,025 shares of company stock worth $92,961 in the last 90 days. 10.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRST. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Primis Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Primis Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Primis Financial by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 87,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 25,803 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in Primis Financial by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 166,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 96,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Primis Financial Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:FRST opened at $12.62 on Thursday. Primis Financial has a fifty-two week low of $7.59 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.71 million, a P/E ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.11.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.24). Primis Financial had a return on equity of 3.99% and a net margin of 18.78%.The firm had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.01 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Primis Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $750,000.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 3.2%. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.73%.

About Primis Financial

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.