First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Share Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.66 and traded as low as $8.19. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $8.47, with a volume of 11,110 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FGBI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Guaranty Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.05 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.37.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is -0.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Guaranty Bancshares news, Director Edgar R. Smith III bought 208,996 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.40 per share, for a total transaction of $1,128,578.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 537,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,901,236.40. The trade was a 63.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally purchased 92,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.40 per share, with a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 300,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,944. This trade represents a 44.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 347,893 shares of company stock worth $1,878,622 over the last ninety days. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 10,641 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the period. 39.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.