First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Bank from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

First Bank Trading Up 1.5%

First Bank stock opened at $17.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.02 million, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. First Bank has a 52 week low of $14.40 and a 52 week high of $18.11.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.17). First Bank had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $36.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.98 million. Analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRBA. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Bank in the third quarter valued at about $33,092,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in First Bank by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 564,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 271,825 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in First Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,685,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Bank by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 144,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 47,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $569,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

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. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans.