First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.32 and traded as high as $15.28. First Bank shares last traded at $15.24, with a volume of 22,519 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FRBA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of First Bank from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

First Bank Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $298.25 million, a P/E ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $33.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.52 million. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of First Bank by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bank by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 78,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

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.