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 recipient of a large growth in short interest during 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 stock are sold short. 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 stock are sold short.

Primis Financial Trading Down 0.3%

FRST traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.93. The company had a trading volume of 70,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,986. The stock has a market cap of $269.32 million, a P/E ratio of -121.44 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.10. Primis Financial has a 52 week low of $7.59 and a 52 week high of $12.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $42.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.13 million. Primis Financial had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 0.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Primis Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -444.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Primis Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 30,968 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Primis Financial in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Primis Financial by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,039 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 7,350 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Primis Financial by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 72,326 shares of the company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 25,086 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Primis Financial by 3,268.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,096 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares during the period. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primis Financial Company Profile

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.