First Carolina Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:FCBM) Short Interest Up 101.0% in August

First Carolina Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:FCBM) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 62,061 shares, an increase of 101.0% from the July 30th total of 30,870 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 93,632 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First Carolina Financial Services Trading Down 0.6%

First Carolina Financial Services stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.62. 93,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 96,443. First Carolina Financial Services has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $13.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.69.

First Carolina Financial Services (NYSE:FCBM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $32.26 million during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that First Carolina Financial Services will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Carolina Financial Services

In other First Carolina Financial Services news, Director Charles Austin Robbins, Jr. purchased 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 369,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,618,650. This represents a 3.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James A. Lucas, Jr. bought 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 439,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,550. This represents a 3.77% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 116,655 shares of company stock valued at $1,458,258 over the last ninety days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FCBM shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on First Carolina Financial Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group began coverage on First Carolina Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded First Carolina Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Carolina Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

About First Carolina Financial Services

First Carolina Financial Service Inc operates as a bank holding company, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking, payment, finance and wealth management services. First Carolina Financial Service Inc is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.