Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas Buys 1,925 Shares

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.80 per share, with a total value of $24,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 91,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,883.20. This represents a 2.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

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

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Primis Financial stock opened at $12.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.90 million, a P/E ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Primis Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $7.59 and a 52 week high of $14.55.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.01 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Primis Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $750,000.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,301,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after buying an additional 185,083 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. acquired a new position in Primis Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,796,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Primis Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,210,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 17,712 shares in the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,203,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 228,734 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,091,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,467,000 after purchasing an additional 336,149 shares in the last quarter. 74.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FRST. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primis Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1.00.

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.