First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Update

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,900 shares, an increase of 71.7% from the February 28th total of 18,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

First Guaranty Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FGBI traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.55. The company had a trading volume of 6,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,834. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.42. First Guaranty Bancshares has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $15.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.13). First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 5.62%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 68,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 8,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.