Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) EVP Matthew Alan Switzer Acquires 2,500 Shares

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) EVP Matthew Alan Switzer acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.06 per share, for a total transaction of $35,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,937.56. This represents a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Primis Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ FRST opened at $14.31 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.65. Primis Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $7.59 and a 12-month high of $14.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.60 million, a P/E ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.24). Primis Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $80.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.01 million. Analysts forecast that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.73%.

Primis Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $750,000.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primis Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,108,000. Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 219.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 576,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after acquiring an additional 395,924 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 527,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,722,000 after acquiring an additional 34,950 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 149,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 154.8% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Primis Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Primis Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.00.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.