First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) saw a large increase in short interest in 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 volume of 12,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

First Guaranty Bancshares Stock Performance

First Guaranty Bancshares stock opened at $7.55 on Monday. First Guaranty Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $15.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.57. The stock has a market cap of $94.41 million, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

First Guaranty Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. First Guaranty Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Guaranty Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FGBI. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $172,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 82,497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Guaranty Bancshares by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

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.