Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) Short Interest Down 9.3% in October

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Primis Financial from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primis Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primis Financial in the second quarter worth about $105,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Primis Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Primis Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $144,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primis Financial by 55.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 6,783 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Primis Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.96% of the company’s stock.

Primis Financial Price Performance

Primis Financial stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.52. 48,831 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 65,595. Primis Financial has a 1 year low of $9.21 and a 1 year high of $13.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.23.

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $66.40 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Primis Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primis Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

About Primis Financial

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.