First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.01 (NASDAQ:FGBI)

Key Points

• First Guaranty Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share, payable March 31 to shareholders of record March 27, implying an annualized dividend yield of about 0.5% (annual dividend $0.04).
• The dividend is well-covered by earnings — a current payout ratio of 4.4% and analysts' expected EPS of $1.22 next year imply an expected payout ratio near 3.3% — though the dividend has edged down about 0.1% annually over the past three years.
• Shares opened at $8.47 (up ~3.4%), with a market cap around $130 million and a 52-week range of $4.31–$10.55; Wall Street sentiment is negative on balance (average rating "Reduce" with one Hold and one Sell, including a Sell from Weiss and a Hold from Zacks).

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of 0.01 per share by the bank on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th.

First Guaranty Bancshares has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. First Guaranty Bancshares has a dividend payout ratio of 4.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Guaranty Bancshares to earn $1.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.3%.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of FGBI opened at $8.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 52 week low of $4.31 and a 52 week high of $10.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.05 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.66 and a 200-day moving average of $7.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FGBI. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

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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