First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, an increase of 17.7% from the March 15th total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 875,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on FIBK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on First Interstate BancSystem from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Interstate BancSystem has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Interstate BancSystem news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $77,604.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares in the company, valued at $551,229.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Interstate BancSystem news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $77,604.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares in the company, valued at $551,229.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristina Robbins sold 2,710 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total value of $69,999.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,684.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,531 shares of company stock worth $197,645. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FIBK. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 5.7% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 7,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 225.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 281,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,344,000 after acquiring an additional 194,783 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 13.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem during the first quarter worth approximately $1,046,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 263.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

First Interstate BancSystem Price Performance

NASDAQ:FIBK opened at $24.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.63. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.87. First Interstate BancSystem has a 52-week low of $20.81 and a 52-week high of $32.54.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $252.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.50 million. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 18.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This is an increase from First Interstate BancSystem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First Interstate BancSystem’s payout ratio is 75.81%.

First Interstate BancSystem Company Profile

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.