Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Maxim Group

Equities research analysts at Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $1.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 88.84% from the stock’s current price.

Primis Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of FRST stock opened at $8.96 on Monday. Primis Financial has a 12-month low of $7.59 and a 12-month high of $13.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.87 and a beta of 0.65.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $32.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.90 million. Primis Financial had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 2.05%. Equities research analysts predict that Primis Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Primis Financial

In related news, Director John Fitzgerald Biagas bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.97 per share, for a total transaction of $99,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 88,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,035.93. This trade represents a 12.74% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Primis Financial by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 34,394 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 243.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 19,460 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 120.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 71,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 38,792 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its holdings in Primis Financial by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,051,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,263,000 after purchasing an additional 106,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Primis Financial by 1,066.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,541,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,612,000 after purchasing an additional 5,066,069 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.