First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.38 and traded as high as $10.36. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $10.13, with a volume of 30,921 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a market cap of $166.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.03.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.15 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 17.06% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is -1.25%.

Insider Transactions at First Guaranty Bancshares

In other news, Director Edgar R. Smith III purchased 138,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.77 per share, with a total value of $1,072,904.91. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 675,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,247,461.73. This represents a 25.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally purchased 109,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.17 per share, with a total value of $999,997.67. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 441,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,049,352.79. The trade was a 32.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 420,537 shares of company stock valued at $3,572,915 in the last 90 days. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 6,442 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.