First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Up 14.4% in April

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 161,068 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the March 31st total of 140,835 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,938 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.0 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edgar R. Smith III bought 138,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,072,904.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 675,349 shares in the company, valued at $5,247,461.73. The trade was a 25.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally bought 32,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $250,007.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 332,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,804.72. The trade was a 10.71% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 202,435 shares of company stock worth $1,572,920. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FGBI. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FGBI opened at $9.48 on Friday. First Guaranty Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $4.31 and a fifty-two week high of $10.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.54. The company has a market cap of $149.69 million, a P/E ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $22.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 million. Analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.25%.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.