Short Interest in Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Expands By 31.4%

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 104,500 shares, an increase of 31.4% from the February 28th total of 79,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 94,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primis Financial news, Director John Fitzgerald Biagas bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.97 per share, with a total value of $99,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 88,469 shares in the company, valued at $882,035.93. This trade represents a 12.74 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 12,025 shares of company stock valued at $122,058. Insiders own 10.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Primis Financial by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 72,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 25,086 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Primis Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $778,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 7,350 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Primis Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Primis Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $162,000. 74.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primis Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

FRST traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.59. 102,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,930. The company has a market cap of $237.09 million, a PE ratio of -31.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.41. Primis Financial has a 1-year low of $9.39 and a 1-year high of $13.52.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.76). Primis Financial had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 2.05%. Equities analysts forecast that Primis Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Primis Financial’s payout ratio is -133.33%.

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.