F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) Short Interest Update

F.N.B. Co. (NYSE:FNB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,530,000 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the March 15th total of 9,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on FNB shares. StockNews.com lowered F.N.B. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of F.N.B. from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of F.N.B. from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of F.N.B. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Insider Transactions at F.N.B.

In related news, Director William B. Campbell acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.41 per share, with a total value of $33,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 145,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,949,653.08. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On F.N.B.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FNB. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in F.N.B. by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 44,998,378 shares of the bank’s stock worth $521,981,000 after buying an additional 1,761,208 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in F.N.B. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,346,808 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,806,000 after buying an additional 156,120 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in F.N.B. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,292,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $293,193,000 after buying an additional 136,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in F.N.B. by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,756,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,515,000 after buying an additional 942,178 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in F.N.B. by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,266,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $143,144,000 after buying an additional 822,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.25% of the company’s stock.

F.N.B. Price Performance

Shares of FNB traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.92. 861,436 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,075,599. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.73. F.N.B. has a 52-week low of $10.09 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 1.02.

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $337.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.84 million. F.N.B. had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 9.98%. F.N.B.’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that F.N.B. will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

F.N.B. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. F.N.B.’s payout ratio is 36.36%.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance.