Short Interest in Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Declines By 9.3%

Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 77,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the September 30th total of 84,900 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 55,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Primis Financial from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Primis Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FRST traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.25. 47,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,671. Primis Financial has a 1-year low of $9.34 and a 1-year high of $13.69. The company has a market cap of $278.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.23.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $66.40 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Primis Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Primis Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primis Financial during the second quarter valued at about $105,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Primis Financial in the second quarter worth about $106,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Primis Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Primis Financial by 55.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 6,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Primis Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. 74.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primis Financial Company Profile

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.