First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at DA Davidson

Stock analysts at DA Davidson started coverage on shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target on the bank’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on FRBA. Zacks Research downgraded First Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.75.

First Bank Stock Performance

Shares of FRBA stock opened at $16.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.35. First Bank has a 52 week low of $12.74 and a 52 week high of $18.11.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. First Bank had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 17.76%.The firm had revenue of $38.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.42 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRBA. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new position in First Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,092,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Bank by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,268,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,004,235 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,530,000 after purchasing an additional 22,722 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of First Bank by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 616,157 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in First Bank by 93.0% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 564,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 271,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.