First Carolina Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:FCBM) Short Interest Up 204.6% in July

First Carolina Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:FCBM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 30,870 shares, an increase of 204.6% from the July 15th total of 10,136 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 55,747 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

First Carolina Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE FCBM traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.74. The company had a trading volume of 47,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,691. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.70. First Carolina Financial Services has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $13.40.

First Carolina Financial Services (NYSE:FCBM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $32.26 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that First Carolina Financial Services will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FCBM shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on First Carolina Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group started coverage on First Carolina Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Carolina Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Carolina Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Carolina Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Insider Activity

In other First Carolina Financial Services news, Director John Walter Gussenhoven purchased 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 334,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,175,200. This represents a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Jethro Ferebee, Jr. purchased 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.51 per share, with a total value of $88,821.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $88,821. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 116,655 shares of company stock valued at $1,458,258.

First Carolina Financial Services Company Profile

First Carolina Financial Service Inc operates as a bank holding company, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking, payment, finance and wealth management services. First Carolina Financial Service Inc is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.