Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Now Covered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on FRST. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Primis Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Primis Financial Price Performance

FRST stock opened at $14.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Primis Financial has a 52-week low of $7.59 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.54.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.24). Primis Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 3.99%. The business had revenue of $80.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.01 million. Equities research analysts expect that Primis Financial will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.73%.

Insider Transactions at Primis Financial

In other news, EVP Matthew Alan Switzer purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.06 per share, with a total value of $35,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,937.56. The trade was a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 7,025 shares of company stock worth $92,961 over the last ninety days. 10.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primis Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRST. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Primis Financial by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 4,864 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Primis Financial by 11.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Primis Financial by 170.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 248,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after buying an additional 156,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Primis Financial by 65.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the period. 74.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.