First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Update

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 481,045 shares, an increase of 190.1% from the June 15th total of 165,848 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 113,101 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FGBI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Guaranty Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FGBI traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.04. The stock had a trading volume of 44,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,795. The company has a market capitalization of $165.26 million, a PE ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.89. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 1 year low of $4.31 and a 1 year high of $11.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 17.06% and a negative net margin of 21.47%.The firm had revenue of $22.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.15 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.25%.

Insider Activity at First Guaranty Bancshares

In other First Guaranty Bancshares news, Director Edgar R. Smith III acquired 109,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.17 per share, for a total transaction of $999,997.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 784,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,192,948. This represents a 16.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Mcanally acquired 109,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.17 per share, with a total value of $999,997.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 441,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,049,352.79. This represents a 32.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 6,442 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.