First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Update

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,400 shares, a decline of 17.8% from the March 15th total of 30,900 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Guaranty Bancshares

In related news, Director Edgar R. Smith III purchased 98,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.47 per share, for a total transaction of $833,956.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 98,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,956.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally purchased 24,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.47 per share, with a total value of $208,489.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,839 shares in the company, valued at $1,235,256.33. The trade was a 20.31 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 123,175 shares of company stock worth $1,043,292. 46.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 82,497 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,788 shares of the bank’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $400,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 8,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FGBI traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.84. The stock had a trading volume of 11,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.28. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $15.25. The company has a market capitalization of $123.05 million, a PE ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.37.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.13). First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 5.62%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.94%.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

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.