Insider Buying: First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Acquires 141,328 Shares of Stock

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Director Edgar Smith III purchased 141,328 shares of First Guaranty Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.05 per share, for a total transaction of $1,137,690.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 328,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,573.50. This trade represents a 75.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Guaranty Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FGBI stock opened at $8.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.73 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.20 and its 200 day moving average is $8.55. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.55 and a twelve month high of $15.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The bank reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $54.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.20 million. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative return on equity of 4.73% and a negative net margin of 4.49%. Research analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 23rd. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently -3.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on FGBI shares. Zacks Research downgraded First Guaranty Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 14.0% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,236 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $149,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $172,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities.