First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• First Guaranty Bancshares shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $8.08 versus the $8.65 average, with the stock last changing hands at $8.09.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative: one analyst rates the stock “Hold” and another “Sell,” resulting in a consensus rating of “Reduce.”
• The bank beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.17 in EPS versus $0.09 expected and $24.18 million in revenue, but it still posted a negative net margin and return on equity. The company also maintains a small quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.65 and traded as low as $8.08. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $8.09, with a volume of 12,908 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Guaranty Bancshares to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Guaranty Bancshares from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Guaranty Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.19. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 million, a PE ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 0.42.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.08. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 12.25% and a negative net margin of 16.83%.The firm had revenue of $24.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.66 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. First Guaranty Bancshares's payout ratio is presently -1.65%.

Insider Transactions at First Guaranty Bancshares

In other news, Director Robert W. Walker purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.74 per share, for a total transaction of $70,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,593.48. This represents a 51.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders purchased a total of 18,831 shares of company stock valued at $282,166 over the last 90 days. 49.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

A hedge fund recently raised its position in First Guaranty Bancshares stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI - Free Report) by 1,288.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,942 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,442 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company's stock.

First Guaranty Bancshares Company Profile

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations.

First Guaranty Bank offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit and business deposits. Its lending activities include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and development loans, residential real estate loans, agricultural lending and consumer loans.

The bank also provides treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management and other financial services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.