Insider Buying: First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Purchases 141,328 Shares of Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Edgar Smith III purchased 141,328 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.05 per share, with a total value of $1,137,690.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 328,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,573.50. This trade represents a 75.60% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

First Guaranty Bancshares Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:FGBI opened at $7.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.78 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.52. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.55 and a 12 month high of $15.25.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The bank reported ($0.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $54.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.20 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 4.73% and a negative net margin of 4.49%. Analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 23rd. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 14.0% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $149,000. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares during the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Zacks Research cut shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, First Guaranty Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.