Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Short Interest Up 31.4% in March

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 104,500 shares, a growth of 31.4% from the February 28th total of 79,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 94,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Primis Financial stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.74. The company had a trading volume of 141,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,327. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.46 and a 200-day moving average of $11.38. Primis Financial has a 52 week low of $8.72 and a 52 week high of $13.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $216.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.13 and a beta of 0.78.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.76). Primis Financial had a negative return on equity of 2.05% and a negative net margin of 2.97%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Primis Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Primis Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently -133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Fitzgerald Biagas acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.97 per share, for a total transaction of $99,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 88,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,035.93. The trade was a 12.74 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 12,025 shares of company stock valued at $122,058. Insiders own 10.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Primis Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Primis Financial by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,639 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Primis Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Primis Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in shares of Primis Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $194,000. 74.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.