First Bank $FRBA Shares Sold by Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.

Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. decreased its position in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,831,437 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the quarter. First Bank accounts for approximately 9.4% of Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.’s holdings in First Bank were worth $30,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bank by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,268,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,470 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Bank by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,988,000 after acquiring an additional 14,759 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of First Bank by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 564,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,189,000 after acquiring an additional 271,825 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 193,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 8,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Bank by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 144,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 47,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on FRBA shares. Zacks Research lowered First Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Bank in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Bank from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

First Bank Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FRBA opened at $15.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $385.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.55. First Bank has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $18.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.22.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $36.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.99 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 17.02%. Equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. First Bank’s payout ratio is presently 21.56%.

First Bank Company Profile

First Bank provides various banking products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as commercial checking accounts. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans.