First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $19.99 and last traded at $19.9790, with a volume of 11,864 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRBA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Bank from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of First Bank from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.67.

First Bank Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.02. The firm has a market cap of $504.18 million, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $38.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.70 million. First Bank had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from First Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bank

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 3,353.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 14,990 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bank in the second quarter worth about $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bank during the second quarter worth $1,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of First Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in First Bank in the second quarter valued at about $12,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.

First Bank Company Profile

First Bank (NASDAQ: FRBA) is a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the bank provides banking services to businesses, individuals and organizations in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, cash-management services and online banking. First Bank emphasizes relationship-based banking and serves small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

First Bank operates a network of branches in central and southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region.