Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 169,260 Shares of Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169,260 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.76% of Primis Financial worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Primis Financial by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 28,887 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Primis Financial by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 144,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 19,454 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Primis Financial by 1,066.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,541,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,612,000 after purchasing an additional 5,066,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Primis Financial by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 34,394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

FRST stock opened at $8.21 on Thursday. Primis Financial Corp. has a one year low of $7.75 and a one year high of $13.52. The firm has a market cap of $202.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.37 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.10.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.76). Primis Financial had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 2.05%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -133.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Fitzgerald Biagas purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.97 per share, with a total value of $99,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 88,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,035.93. This represents a 12.74 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 12,025 shares of company stock valued at $122,058. 10.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.