Edgar Smith III Buys 109,051 Shares of First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Stock

Key Points

• Director Edgar Smith III purchased 109,051 shares at an average price of $9.17 (totaling $999,997.67), boosting his stake to 784,400 shares — a 16.15% increase in ownership.
• First Guaranty reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, beating the $0.07 estimate, but the bank still shows a negative ROE (-16.79%) and net margin (-21.47%); the stock traded down to $9.00 with a market cap of $142.11 million and a 52‑week range of $4.31–$10.07.
• Analyst sentiment is weak (consensus "Reduce" and Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)"), while the company pays a small quarterly dividend of $0.01 (annualized $0.04, ~0.4% yield).

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) Director Edgar Smith III purchased 109,051 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.17 per share, for a total transaction of $999,997.67. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 784,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,192,948. This trade represents a 16.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Down 2.7%

FGBI stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.00. The stock had a trading volume of 40,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,909. The firm has a market cap of $142.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.81 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.52. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.31 and a 52-week high of $10.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 16.79% and a negative net margin of 21.47%.The business had revenue of $22.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.15 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares's payout ratio is -1.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Guaranty Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the fourth 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. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

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.

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