First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Edgar R. Smith III Purchases 6,725 Shares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) Director Edgar R. Smith III bought 6,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.66 per share, with a total value of $64,963.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,471.62. The trade was a 53.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FGBI stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,478. The stock has a market cap of $116.64 million, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day moving average of $10.10. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $15.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The bank reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.71). First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 5.62%. The company had revenue of $56.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. First Guaranty Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Guaranty Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 82,497 shares of the bank's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $400,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,780 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 8,780 shares during the period. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

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.