First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Short Interest Up 7.7% in December

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the December 15th total of 2,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 633,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Performance

First Interstate BancSystem stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.54. 336,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 582,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. First Interstate BancSystem has a 12 month low of $24.16 and a 12 month high of $36.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.31.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 15.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.78%. First Interstate BancSystem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder James R. Scott, Jr. sold 6,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $209,311.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,851.50. This represents a 7.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan R. Scott sold 6,500 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $222,170.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 958,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,768,707.80. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,583 over the last quarter. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 97.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $975,000 after buying an additional 15,649 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 188,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after acquiring an additional 22,899 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,580,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,204,000 after purchasing an additional 367,212 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 18.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 206,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,326,000 after purchasing an additional 32,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem by 37,734.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 141,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 141,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FIBK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on First Interstate BancSystem from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson raised shares of First Interstate BancSystem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $32.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Interstate BancSystem currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

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.