First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.12 Per Share

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share by the bank on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This is a 33.3% increase from First Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09.

First Bank has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years. First Bank has a payout ratio of 19.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Bank to earn $1.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.9%.

First Bank Price Performance

Shares of FRBA stock opened at $18.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. First Bank has a twelve month low of $14.40 and a twelve month high of $19.33. The company has a market cap of $465.61 million, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.18.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.05. First Bank had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 17.45%. The business had revenue of $38.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of First Bank during the second quarter valued at $243,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of First Bank in the second quarter worth $283,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bank in the second quarter worth $203,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Bank by 3,353.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 14,990 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Bank by 10.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,681 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the period. 64.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bank Company Profile

First Bank (NASDAQ: FRBA) is a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the bank provides banking services to businesses, individuals and organizations in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, cash-management services and online banking. First Bank emphasizes relationship-based banking and serves small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

First Bank operates a network of branches in central and southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region.