BlackRock Inc. Buys New Position in First Bank $FRBA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 198,569 First Bank shares during the second quarter, valued at roughly $12.8 million and representing approximately 0.79% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 64.86% of FRBA.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with three Buy ratings and two Hold ratings. First Bank has an average price target of $19.67, while recent targets were raised to as high as $20.
• First Bank reported quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share, beating estimates of $0.40, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 198,569 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $12,836,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 0.79% of First Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of First Bank by 117.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $243,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 21.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,620 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $154,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of First Bank in the third quarter valued at about $169,000. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FRBA. Zacks Research upgraded First Bank from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Hovde Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of First Bank in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Bank from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of First Bank from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Bank presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.67.

First Bank Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of FRBA stock opened at $18.35 on Friday. First Bank has a 12-month low of $14.40 and a 12-month high of $19.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.75. The firm has a market cap of $460.59 million, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.52.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.23 million. First Bank had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 17.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Bank will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. First Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.30%.

First Bank Profile

First Bank provides various banking products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as commercial checking accounts. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans.

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