Insider Buying: Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) Director Purchases $24,640.00 in Stock

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Director John Fitzgerald Biagas purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.80 per share, for a total transaction of $24,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 91,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,883.20. This represents a 2.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

John Fitzgerald Biagas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 11th, John Fitzgerald Biagas acquired 1,550 shares of Primis Financial stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.75 per share, with a total value of $19,762.50.

Primis Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRST opened at $12.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $314.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.08. Primis Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $7.59 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Primis Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $80.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.01 million. On average, analysts expect that Primis Financial Corp. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Primis Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.73%.

Primis Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $750,000.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Primis Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Primis Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primis Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRST. Fourthstone LLC grew its holdings in Primis Financial by 219.5% during the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 576,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,252,000 after purchasing an additional 395,924 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 18.0% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 149,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 154.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Primis Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $154,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Primis Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.