John Fitzgerald Biagas Buys 1,550 Shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Stock

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas bought 1,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.75 per share, for a total transaction of $19,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,742.25. This represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Primis Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ FRST traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.85. 29,808 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,073. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Primis Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $7.59 and a 12-month high of $14.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.05. The company has a market capitalization of $316.55 million, a P/E ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.24). Primis Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 4.11%. The firm had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.01 million. As a group, analysts predict that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Primis Financial’s payout ratio is 20.73%.

Primis Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $750,000.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 16.6% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,301,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,126,000 after buying an additional 185,083 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. purchased a new position in Primis Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,796,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Primis Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,210,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,717,000 after acquiring an additional 17,712 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its position in Primis Financial by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,203,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 228,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Primis Financial by 44.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,091,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,467,000 after purchasing an additional 336,149 shares during the period. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FRST. Wall Street Zen lowered Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.00.

Primis Financial Company Profile

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.