Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Primis Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Primis Financial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Primis Financial stock opened at $16.65 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.02. Primis Financial has a one year low of $9.55 and a one year high of $16.77. The company has a market cap of $412.45 million, a PE ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.75.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. Primis Financial had a net margin of 19.71% and a return on equity of 4.98%. The firm had revenue of $45.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.87 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primis Financial will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Primis Financial’s payout ratio is 18.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Primis Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,303,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Primis Financial by 25.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 50,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 10,298 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its holdings in Primis Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,224,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,262,000 after buying an additional 7,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 171,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 22,793 shares during the period. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.