FB Financial Co. (NYSE:FBK) Short Interest Up 5.3% in January

FB Financial Co. (NYSE:FBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 428,900 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the January 15th total of 407,400 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 157,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

FB Financial Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of FB Financial stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.75. The stock had a trading volume of 124,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,760. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.33. FB Financial has a 12-month low of $33.35 and a 12-month high of $58.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.15.

FB Financial (NYSE:FBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.01. FB Financial had a net margin of 15.18% and a return on equity of 10.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that FB Financial will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

FB Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This is a positive change from FB Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. FB Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FBK. Hovde Group cut shares of FB Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of FB Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of FB Financial from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.20.

Insider Transactions at FB Financial

In other FB Financial news, major shareholder James W. Ayers acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.83 per share, with a total value of $103,660.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 10,927,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,389,999.03. The trade was a 0.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $716,880 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FB Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 262,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 196,172 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FB Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,546,000. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC now owns 197,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,163,000 after acquiring an additional 77,885 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 489.5% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 70,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 58,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 259,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,383,000 after acquiring an additional 58,402 shares during the last quarter. 65.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FB Financial Company Profile

FB Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank that provides a suite of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates in segments, such as Banking and Mortgage. It offers checking, demand, money market, and savings accounts; deposit and lending products and services to corporate, commercial, and consumer customers; and time deposits and certificates of deposits, as well as residential mortgage loans.