Short Interest in Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Drops By 7.7%

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 84,900 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the September 15th total of 92,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Primis Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,107,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,312 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,574,000 after acquiring an additional 23,653 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 353,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 12,900 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 125.1% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 113,911 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Primis Financial by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 178,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 32,896 shares during the period. 74.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primis Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

FRST traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.29. 74,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,861. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.75. Primis Financial has a 1-year low of $7.54 and a 1-year high of $13.69.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

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.