Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Holdings in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 890,825 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 26,500 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 4.55% of First Bank worth $12,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRBA. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Bank by 1,307.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,737,940 shares of the bank's stock valued at $94,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259,053 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of First Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 469,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of First Bank by 6.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,047 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,838,000 after acquiring an additional 22,452 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in First Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,872,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.86% of the company's stock.

First Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRBA traded up $0.35 on Tuesday, hitting $13.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,653. The company has a market capitalization of $263.41 million, a PE ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.57. First Bank has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $15.87.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. First Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

About First Bank

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.