FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

FBK has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of FB Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $65.00 price target on shares of FB Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler raised FB Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised FB Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on FB Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

FB Financial Price Performance

NYSE FBK opened at $55.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.95. FB Financial has a 1-year low of $44.43 and a 1-year high of $62.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.30.

FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.01). FB Financial had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $172.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that FB Financial will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FB Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 27th that allows the company to buyback $175.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FB Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. FB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 9.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 6,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 8.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 30.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 31,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 7,276 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in FB Financial by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in FB Financial by 70.4% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 27,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 11,486 shares during the period. 65.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FB Financial Company Profile

FB Financial Corporation, through its banking subsidiary FirstBank, is a Tennessee-based bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and commercial clients. Established to serve the banking needs of communities across the southeastern United States, the company’s core offerings include consumer and commercial deposit products, commercial lending, and mortgage services.

In addition to traditional checking and savings accounts, FB Financial’s service portfolio encompasses treasury and cash management, equipment financing, and letters of credit to support the working capital and expansion needs of business customers.