Short Interest in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Expands By 17.7%

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, an increase of 17.7% from the March 15th total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 875,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

First Interstate BancSystem Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FIBK opened at $24.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.63. First Interstate BancSystem has a 1 year low of $20.81 and a 1 year high of $32.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 18.04%. The company had revenue of $252.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.50 million. As a group, analysts expect that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This is an increase from First Interstate BancSystem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First Interstate BancSystem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FIBK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $77,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,229.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Interstate BancSystem news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $77,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,229.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristina Robbins sold 2,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total value of $69,999.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,684.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,531 shares of company stock valued at $197,645 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,180,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,303,000 after buying an additional 533,293 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem in the fourth quarter worth $164,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,970,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,350,000 after buying an additional 142,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem in the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

About First Interstate BancSystem

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.