Bailard Inc. Acquires New Holdings in First Bank $FRBA

Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 19,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 1.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 78,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in First Bank by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in First Bank by 200.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Bank by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,139 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Bank by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,358 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,510,000 after acquiring an additional 9,006 shares during the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of First Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.25.

First Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRBA opened at $15.73 on Friday. First Bank has a 1-year low of $12.74 and a 1-year high of $17.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. First Bank had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The firm had revenue of $37.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.76 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.46%.

First Bank 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.