Foundry Partners LLC Increases Holdings in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 143,350 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,965 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in First Bank were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Bank by 1,307.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,737,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259,053 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in First Bank in the third quarter worth about $3,872,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of First Bank by 24.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,703,000 after buying an additional 161,761 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 68,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Bank by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 40,480 shares during the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ FRBA opened at $13.58 on Friday. First Bank has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $15.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average of $14.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $265.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.76.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bank will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

First Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. First Bank’s payout ratio is 14.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.