First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Short Interest Up 7.7% in January

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the December 31st total of 2,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 633,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Interstate BancSystem

In other First Interstate BancSystem news, Director Jonathan R. Scott sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $222,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 958,710 shares in the company, valued at $32,768,707.80. The trade was a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder James R. Scott, Jr. sold 6,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $209,311.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 75,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,851.50. This represents a 7.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,837 shares of company stock worth $1,839,583. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIBK. TNF LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. TNF LLC now owns 25,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 5.0% in the third quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in First Interstate BancSystem by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

First Interstate BancSystem Price Performance

FIBK opened at $31.75 on Tuesday. First Interstate BancSystem has a 12-month low of $24.16 and a 12-month high of $36.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.10 and a 200-day moving average of $31.61.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 15.94%. Equities analysts forecast that First Interstate BancSystem will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. First Interstate BancSystem’s payout ratio is presently 85.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on First Interstate BancSystem from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Interstate BancSystem from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group began coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.14.

First Interstate BancSystem Company Profile

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.