Short Interest in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Decreases By 16.1%

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the September 15th total of 2,610,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 581,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FIBK. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem during the second quarter worth $106,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 412.5% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem in the 4th quarter valued at $164,000. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of First Interstate BancSystem from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays increased their target price on First Interstate BancSystem from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Interstate BancSystem has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.17.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Performance

Shares of FIBK stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.97. 332,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,213. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.25. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.81. First Interstate BancSystem has a 12-month low of $20.81 and a 12-month high of $33.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.07 million. First Interstate BancSystem had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 8.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.07%. First Interstate BancSystem's payout ratio is presently 74.90%.

About First Interstate BancSystem

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.