First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) Short Interest Update

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,660,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the January 31st total of 4,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

First Republic Bank Price Performance

NYSE:FRC opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. First Republic Bank has a 52 week low of $106.86 and a 52 week high of $174.21. The firm has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93.

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 13th. The bank reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. First Republic Bank had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Republic Bank will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

First Republic Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 26th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 25th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. First Republic Bank’s payout ratio is 13.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRC shares. TheStreet lowered shares of First Republic Bank from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, November 7th. Maxim Group reduced their price target on shares of First Republic Bank from $200.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of First Republic Bank from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of First Republic Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of First Republic Bank from $133.00 to $131.00 in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Republic Bank

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in First Republic Bank by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,724,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $248,628,000 after buying an additional 143,905 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in First Republic Bank by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in First Republic Bank by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 116,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,149,000 after buying an additional 14,698 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in First Republic Bank by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after buying an additional 4,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in First Republic Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. 95.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Republic Bank Company Profile

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First Republic Bank engages in the provision of private banking, business banking, real estate lending, and wealth management, including trust and custody services. It operates through the Commercial Banking and Wealth Management segments. The Commercial Banking segment represents most of the operations, including real estate secured lending, retail deposit gathering, private banking activities, mortgage sales and servicing, and managing capital, liquidity, and interest rate risk.