Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on FRST. Zacks Research raised Primis Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.00.

Primis Financial Stock Performance

FRST opened at $14.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.98 and its 200-day moving average is $11.62. The stock has a market cap of $347.42 million, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.77. Primis Financial has a twelve month low of $7.59 and a twelve month high of $14.38.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $80.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.01 million. Primis Financial had a return on equity of 4.11% and a net margin of 18.78%. On average, analysts predict that Primis Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Primis Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $750,000.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.73%.

Institutional Trading of Primis Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Primis Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,108,000. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 219.5% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 576,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after purchasing an additional 395,924 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 7.1% in the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 527,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,722,000 after purchasing an additional 34,950 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primis Financial by 18.0% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 149,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Primis Financial by 154.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waycross, Georgia, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Primis Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and agricultural clients across its service area. Primis Bank focuses on building relationships within the communities it serves, positioning itself as a local financial partner for deposit-taking, lending, and treasury management solutions.

Primis Bank maintains a network of branch offices throughout southeastern Georgia, serving a combination of rural and suburban markets.