Hovde Group Increases First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Price Target to $17.50

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Hovde Group from $17.00 to $17.50 in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded First Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

First Bank Stock Performance

FRBA traded up $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $14.46. 12,401 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,517. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.50. First Bank has a twelve month low of $11.20 and a twelve month high of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $282.88 million, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.76.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.02). First Bank had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $33.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.52 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. First Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Bank by 1,307.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,737,940 shares of the bank's stock valued at $94,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259,053 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in First Bank by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 890,825 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,534,000 after buying an additional 26,500 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Bank by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 890,493 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,529,000 after acquiring an additional 23,012 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Bank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in First Bank by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,838,000 after acquiring an additional 22,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company's stock.

About First Bank

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.