First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FRBA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Bank from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Bank from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.67.

First Bank Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of FRBA stock opened at $19.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $500.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. First Bank has a fifty-two week low of $14.40 and a fifty-two week high of $21.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.09.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.05. First Bank had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $38.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.70 million. On average, analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from First Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in First Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in First Bank in the 2nd quarter worth $283,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Bank in the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Bank by 3,353.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,437 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 14,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Bank by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,681 shares of the bank’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

About First Bank

First Bank (NASDAQ: FRBA) is a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the bank provides banking services to businesses, individuals and organizations in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, cash-management services and online banking. First Bank emphasizes relationship-based banking and serves small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

First Bank operates a network of branches in central and southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region.