First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

First Bank Stock Performance

FRBA stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.01. 55,441 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,487. First Bank has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $274.16 million, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $58.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.96 million. First Bank had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 11.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of First Bank in the third quarter worth approximately $3,872,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in First Bank by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,703,000 after purchasing an additional 161,761 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank in the third quarter valued at $1,159,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank in the third quarter worth $827,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First Bank by 4.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,690 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,633,000 after buying an additional 38,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company's stock.

First Bank Company 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.