Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Stock Falls 1.1% – Here’s Why

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) shares were down 1.1% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $15.30 and last traded at $15.37. 81,282 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 148,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Primis Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Primis Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primis Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.08. The company has a market cap of $381.18 million, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.73.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.15). Primis Financial had a return on equity of 5.49% and a net margin of 19.19%.The firm had revenue of $55.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.77 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Primis Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Primis Financial during the second quarter worth about $40,288,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in Primis Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,224,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,262,000 after acquiring an additional 7,216 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,185,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,747,000 after acquiring an additional 28,998 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,279,000 after acquiring an additional 39,582 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Primis Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,642,000. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primis Financial Company Profile

Primis Financial Corp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. Through its subsidiary, Primis Bank, the company provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Primis Bank offers deposit accounts, personal and commercial lending, mortgage lending, cash management, online and mobile banking, and other financial services. Its lending activities include residential and commercial real estate loans, business loans and consumer credit products.

The bank serves customers primarily in Virginia and Maryland through a combination of community banking offices and digital channels.