First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $34.56 and last traded at $34.36, with a volume of 71552 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FIBK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of First Interstate BancSystem from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays downgraded shares of First Interstate BancSystem from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut First Interstate BancSystem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of First Interstate BancSystem in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.50.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Up 1.7 %

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 stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.51 and a 200 day moving average of $29.51.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). First Interstate BancSystem had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 7.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Interstate BancSystem Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. First Interstate BancSystem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.46%.

Insider Transactions at First Interstate BancSystem

In other news, Director Jonathan R. Scott sold 6,500 shares of First Interstate BancSystem stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $222,170.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 958,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,768,707.80. The trade was a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Julie A. Scott sold 20,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $662,811.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 635,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,817,561.82. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,770 shares of company stock worth $1,630,272. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Interstate BancSystem

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FIBK. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem during the third quarter worth about $69,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 16.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Interstate BancSystem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 412.5% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Interstate BancSystem

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.