First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Stock Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.13 and traded as low as $8.01. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $8.08, with a volume of 46,751 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th.

First Guaranty Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.16 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.53.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The bank reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $56.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.90 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 1.78%. On average, analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at First Guaranty Bancshares

In other news, Director Edgar R. Smith III acquired 98,460 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.47 per share, for a total transaction of $833,956.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 98,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,956.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert W. Walker acquired 3,000 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.12 per share, with a total value of $27,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,200. The trade was a 42.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 132,900 shares of company stock worth $1,135,616. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 82,497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 4,956 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 3,742 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $400,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 8,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.