Stephens Reaffirms "Overweight" Rating for First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK)

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $32.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on FIBK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet lowered First Interstate BancSystem from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Interstate BancSystem has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $29.00.

First Interstate BancSystem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FIBK traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,300,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,657. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.66. First Interstate BancSystem has a fifty-two week low of $20.81 and a fifty-two week high of $32.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 18.04%. The firm had revenue of $252.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $254.50 million. On average, research analysts expect that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.98%. This is an increase from First Interstate BancSystem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First Interstate BancSystem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.81%.

Insider Activity at First Interstate BancSystem

In other news, insider Lorrie F. Asker sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total transaction of $50,042.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,979.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lorrie F. Asker sold 1,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total value of $50,042.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,979.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $77,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $551,229.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,531 shares of company stock worth $197,645. Insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 929 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 205.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem during the third quarter worth about $81,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company's stock.

About First Interstate BancSystem

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.