First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03, Zacks reports. First Bank had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 17.02%.

First Bank Stock Up 0.5%

FRBA stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.49. 84,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 76,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. First Bank has a 1-year low of $14.40 and a 1-year high of $18.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.40. The firm has a market cap of $438.93 million, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in First Bank by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 120,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 11,554 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 616,157 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $183,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 56,820 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 27,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 48,490 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FRBA. Zacks Research upgraded First Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Bank from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

First Bank Company Profile

First Bank provides various banking products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as commercial checking accounts. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans.