First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Lifted to “Buy” at Zacks Investment Research

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price objective on the bank’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.29% from the stock’s current price.

According to Zacks, “First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. offers personalized commercial banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals. It provides a variety of deposit products, including personal and business checking and savings accounts, time deposits, money market accounts and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts. The Bank also offers other services including personal and commercial credit cards, remote deposit capture, safe deposit boxes, official checks, traveller’s checks, Internet banking, online bill pay, mobile banking and lockbox services. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. is based in Hammond, Louisiana. “

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares to $30.00 and gave the stock a “na” rating in a research report on Monday, May 16th.

NASDAQ:FGBI traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $26.25. 39,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,066. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $281.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.36. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 52-week low of $16.48 and a 52-week high of $29.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.12.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 15.99%. On average, analysts predict that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Chairman Marshall T. Reynolds sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.16, for a total transaction of $30,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marshall T. Reynolds sold 1,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total transaction of $32,132.52. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 12,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $356,816.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FGBI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,501.0% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $56,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. 7.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile (Get Rating)

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.

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