Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock.

FRST has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised Primis Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FRST stock opened at $13.87 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.58. Primis Financial has a 52 week low of $7.59 and a 52 week high of $14.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.56 million, a PE ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.01 million. Primis Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 3.99%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Primis Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primis Financial news, EVP Matthew Alan Switzer purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.06 per share, for a total transaction of $35,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,937.56. The trade was a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 7,025 shares of company stock valued at $92,961 in the last 90 days. 10.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRST. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Primis Financial by 12.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Primis Financial by 25.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,864 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Primis Financial by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Primis Financial by 170.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 248,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 156,703 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Primis Financial by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 10,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.