FB Financial Co. (NYSE:FBK) Short Interest Update

FB Financial Co. (NYSE:FBK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 546,800 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the October 31st total of 459,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 151,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder James W. Ayers purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,906,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,248,891. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James W. Iv Cross sold 5,000 shares of FB Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.22, for a total transaction of $291,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,148,421.16. The trade was a 8.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 13,000 shares of company stock worth $658,460 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FB Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in FB Financial by 103.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 21,475 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in FB Financial by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,415,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in FB Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $346,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of FB Financial by 120.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 39,086 shares in the last quarter. 65.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FBK shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on FB Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered FB Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.60.

FB Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FBK opened at $56.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68 and a beta of 1.15. FB Financial has a 52-week low of $33.35 and a 52-week high of $58.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.18.

FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. FB Financial had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $169.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that FB Financial will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FB Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. FB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.69%.

FB Financial Company Profile

FB Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank that provides a suite of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates in segments, such as Banking and Mortgage. It offers checking, demand, money market, and savings accounts; deposit and lending products and services to corporate, commercial, and consumer customers; and time deposits and certificates of deposits, as well as residential mortgage loans.