Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Primis Financial Corp. increased by 31.1% in August, totaling 146,200 shares as of August 15th.
• The company reported a negative net margin of 0.93% and a loss per share of $0.11 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate.
• Primis Financial recently announced a $0.10 dividend per share, yielding 3.6% and came with a negative payout ratio of -444.44%.

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 146,200 shares, a growth of 31.1% from the July 31st total of 111,500 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 93,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 93,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Primis Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.50.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRST traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.93. The stock had a trading volume of 70,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,986. The stock has a market cap of $269.35 million, a P/E ratio of -121.44 and a beta of 0.82. Primis Financial has a 12-month low of $7.59 and a 12-month high of $12.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.10.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $42.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.13 million. Primis Financial had a negative net margin of 0.93% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, research analysts forecast that Primis Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Primis Financial's payout ratio is -444.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primis Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Primis Financial during the second quarter worth about $204,000. Curi Capital LLC grew its position in Primis Financial by 12.2% during the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 1,002,891 shares of the company's stock worth $10,881,000 after buying an additional 109,355 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its position in Primis Financial by 16.6% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,301,933 shares of the company's stock worth $14,126,000 after buying an additional 185,083 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Primis Financial by 39.2% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 31,314 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 8,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Primis Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.