First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Buys $68,698.16 in Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Robert Walker purchased 3,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.12 per share, for a total transaction of $68,698.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,462.24. This trade represents a 223.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Down 3.6%

FGBI opened at $8.77 on Friday. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.31 and a 1-year high of $11.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.65 and a 200-day moving average of $9.31.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $24.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 16.83% and a negative return on equity of 12.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 6,442 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the fourth 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. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first 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. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,956 shares during the period. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FGBI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Guaranty Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Guaranty Bancshares from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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.