WashingtonFirst Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ:WFBI) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Investment Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 12.45% from the company’s current price.
According to Zacks, “WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc. operates as a bank holding company. The Company’s banking subsidiary offers various deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, NOW accounts, tiered savings and money market accounts, time deposit accounts, and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial and residential real estate construction loans, residential mortgage loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. The company provides cash management services, such as electronic banking, sweep accounts, lockbox and account reconciliation, merchant card depository, safe deposit boxes, and automated clearing house origination services, as well as after hour depository, ATMs, remote deposit capture, and courier services. WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc. is based in Reston, Virginia. “
Shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares (NASDAQ:WFBI) opened at 24.90 on Friday. WashingtonFirst Bankshares has a 52 week low of $17.70 and a 52 week high of $25.01. The stock has a market cap of $305.07 million and a PE ratio of 19.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.74 and its 200 day moving average is $22.18.
WashingtonFirst Bankshares (NASDAQ:WFBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 21st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. Analysts forecast that WashingtonFirst Bankshares will post $1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 8th.
A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have modified their holdings of WFBI. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares by 4.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 95,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 3,834 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 913,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,961,000 after buying an additional 24,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares by 21.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares during the first quarter valued at $391,000. Finally, UBS Group AG purchased a new stake in shares of WashingtonFirst Bankshares during the first quarter valued at $715,000.
In other WashingtonFirst Bankshares news, Director Mark C. Michael acquired 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.50 per share, with a total value of $98,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,446. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Caren D. Merrick acquired 4,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.98 per share, for a total transaction of $97,478.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,980.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.
WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company. The Company, through its subsidiary, WashingtonFirst Bank (the Bank), operates approximately 20 banking offices throughout the Washington, District of Columbia (DC) metropolitan area. The Company’s segments include traditional commercial banking, a mortgage banking business and a wealth management business.