First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Short Interest Update

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,900 shares, an increase of 71.7% from the February 28th total of 18,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Down 2.6 %

FGBI traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.55. The company had a trading volume of 6,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,834. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $15.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $94.41 million, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.94 and a 200-day moving average of $10.57.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.13). First Guaranty Bancshares had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 5.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

First Guaranty Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. First Guaranty Bancshares’s payout ratio is 4.94%.

Institutional Trading of First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FGBI. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in First Guaranty Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $296,000. 39.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.