Trexquant Investment LP Increases Stock Holdings in First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) by 73.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,020 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 18,594 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.22% of First Bank worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of First Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in First Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in First Bank by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of First Bank by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 64.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bank Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FRBA opened at $12.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.67 million, a P/E ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.76. First Bank has a 12-month low of $11.20 and a 12-month high of $15.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. First Bank had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. Equities research analysts expect that First Bank will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. First Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bank Company Profile

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.