JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Free Report) by 112.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,592 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 40,480 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.39% of First Bank worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRBA. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in First Bank by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,259,053 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Bank by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 144,493 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 68,260 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First Bank by 64.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,462 shares of the bank's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 20,602 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in First Bank in the fourth quarter worth $398,000. Institutional investors own 64.86% of the company's stock.

First Bank Stock Performance

Shares of FRBA stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $14.53. 5,906 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,567. The firm's 50 day moving average is $14.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.50. First Bank has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $15.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.35 million, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.02). First Bank had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 18.41%. The business had revenue of $33.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. First Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FRBA. StockNews.com cut First Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of First Bank from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

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.