First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

First Bank Price Performance

FRBA stock opened at $14.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. First Bank has a 52-week low of $11.20 and a 52-week high of $15.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.12.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). First Bank had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 18.19%. The business had revenue of $58.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bank by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 7,413 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in First Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First Bank by 4.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,633,000 after buying an additional 38,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,838,000 after acquiring an additional 22,452 shares during the period. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.