First Guaranty Posts 69c Q3 EPS as $17.6M Texas Sale Gain Lifts Net Income to $12M
FGBI has more than doubled off its 52-week low of $4.31.
Summary
First Guaranty reported Q3 EPS of 69 cents, with net income of $12.0 million driven largely by a $17.6 million pre-tax gain on the Texas sale. That is a sharp swing from the $3.4 million profit in Q2, though the bulk of the improvement is one-time rather than core earnings. The 8-K filed earlier today carried the same $12.0 million net income and gain figures; this wire adds the per-share number. Context matters here: the bank has been operating under an FDIC consent order since August that requires higher capital ratios and blocks dividends from the bank to the parent, so the capital boost from the sale is directly relevant to that constraint. Insiders have been accumulating — director and 10% owner Edgar R. Smith III bought $822K of stock at $8.28 on September 30, and several directors bought through August and September.
At the time of this announcement, FGBI was trading at $8.89 on NASDAQ in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $147M. The 52-week trading range was $4.31 to $11.02. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.