Short Interest in First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Expands By 57.6%

Key Points

• First Guaranty Bancshares experienced a 57.6% increase in short interest in August, with total short interest reaching 27,100 shares.
• Director Marshall T. Reynolds increased his ownership by 1.64%, purchasing 30,865 shares at $8.10 each, bringing his total to 1,916,468 shares.
• The company's stock has seen a significant drop in ratings, with Wall Street analysts downgrading it from "hold" to a "strong sell," reflecting a generally negative outlook.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 27,100 shares, a growth of 57.6% from the August 15th total of 17,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Currently, 0.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FGBI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Sell".

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marshall T. Reynolds purchased 30,865 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.10 per share, with a total value of $250,006.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,916,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,523,390.80. This represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FGBI. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $149,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,780 shares of the bank's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 8,780 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 worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FGBI traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $8.25. 3,129 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,200. First Guaranty Bancshares has a twelve month low of $6.55 and a twelve month high of $15.25. The company has a market capitalization of $124.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.31 and a 200-day moving average of $8.46.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The bank reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $54.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.20 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 4.49% and a negative return on equity of 4.73%. On average, research analysts predict that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 23rd. First Guaranty Bancshares's payout ratio is -3.96%.

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.