Insider Buying: First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Buys $92,735.00 in Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Robert Walker acquired 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $92,735.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 62,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,195.11. This represents a 15.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FGBI traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.03. 19,993 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.23. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.31 and a 12 month high of $11.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.81 million, a PE ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 0.42.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $24.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 16.83% and a negative return on equity of 12.25%. Equities research analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.65%.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 10,641 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the 1st 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 raised its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FGBI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Guaranty Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings cut First Guaranty Bancshares from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Guaranty Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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.