First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI)’s share price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.38 and traded as high as $10.36. First Guaranty Bancshares shares last traded at $10.13, with a volume of 30,921 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Guaranty Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Up 1.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.07. First Guaranty Bancshares had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 17.06%. The business had revenue of $22.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.15 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.25%.

Insider Activity at First Guaranty Bancshares

In other news, Director Edgar R. Smith III acquired 138,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,072,904.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 675,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,247,461.73. This represents a 25.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marshall T. Reynolds acquired 32,176 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $250,007.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,025,997 shares in the company, valued at $15,741,996.69. The trade was a 1.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 420,537 shares of company stock worth $3,572,915 in the last three months. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1,288.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 6,442 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. 39.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, the company provides a diversified range of commercial and retail banking services. Founded in 1932, First Guaranty Bancshares has grown from a community mutual bank into a publicly traded institution listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FGBI.

The company’s core business activities encompass traditional deposit products and lending solutions.