First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) Raised to “Buy” at Zacks Investment Research

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports. The firm currently has a $32.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price target points to a potential upside of 8.81% from the company’s current price.

According to Zacks, “First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. offers personalized commercial banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals. It provides a variety of deposit products, including personal and business checking and savings accounts, time deposits, money market accounts and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts. The Bank also offers other services including personal and commercial credit cards, remote deposit capture, safe deposit boxes, official checks, traveller’s checks, Internet banking, online bill pay, mobile banking and lockbox services. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. is based in Hammond, Louisiana. “

Separately, DA Davidson increased their price target on First Guaranty Bancshares to $30.00 and gave the stock a “na” rating in a research note on Monday, May 16th.

FGBI traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.41. 42,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,522. The stock has a market cap of $315.19 million, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.63 and a 200 day moving average of $22.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. First Guaranty Bancshares has a 52 week low of $16.48 and a 52 week high of $29.64.

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. First Guaranty Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 23.43%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Guaranty Bancshares will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Chairman Marshall T. Reynolds sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.16, for a total value of $30,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marshall T. Reynolds sold 1,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total value of $32,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 12,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,816.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.50% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Guaranty Bancshares by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Guaranty Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in First Guaranty Bancshares by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. 7.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Guaranty Bancshares (Get Rating)

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.

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