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Primis Financial (FRST)
NASDAQ:FRST

Primis Financial (FRST) AI Stock Analysis

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FRST

Primis Financial

(NASDAQ:FRST)

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Neutral 58 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:58Neutral
Price Target:
$14.00
▲(3.55% Upside)
The score is held back primarily by weak reported financial performance (declining revenue, thin margins, and poor free-cash-flow trend) and a high P/E valuation. Offsetting these, recent earnings-call commentary and corporate updates indicate a meaningful profitability turnaround and improving operating momentum, while technical indicators are neutral-to-mildly positive.
Positive Factors
Improved Return Metrics
Improved return metrics indicate enhanced efficiency in asset utilization and shareholder equity, supporting long-term profitability.
Mortgage Division Expansion
The expansion of the mortgage division boosts revenue potential and market presence, contributing to sustained business growth.
Sale-Leaseback Transaction
The sale-leaseback transaction strengthens the balance sheet, enhances capital levels, and supports strategic growth initiatives.
Negative Factors
Declining Revenue
Declining revenue growth poses a risk to sustained profitability and indicates challenges in maintaining competitive market positioning.
Credit Concerns
Credit concerns with nonaccrual loans could lead to increased risk and financial instability, affecting long-term financial health.
Negative Free Cash Flow Growth
Negative cash flow growth indicates potential liquidity issues, limiting the company's ability to invest in growth and manage debt.

Primis Financial (FRST) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Primis Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company DescriptionPrimis Financial (FRST) is a financial services company specializing in mortgage banking and related financial services. The company primarily operates in the residential mortgage market, offering a range of products including conventional mortgages, government-backed loans, and refinancing options. Primis is committed to providing innovative solutions to enhance the borrowing experience, utilizing technology to streamline the application and approval processes.
How the Company Makes MoneyPrimis Financial generates revenue primarily through interest income on loans it originates and services. The company earns money by charging borrowers interest on the mortgages it provides, which can include both fixed and variable rates depending on the loan products. Additionally, Primis may generate revenue through origination fees, which are charged at the time of loan closing. The company also benefits from servicing fees earned on the loans it manages over time. Significant partnerships with financial institutions and technology platforms further enhance its operational efficiencies and market reach, contributing to its overall earnings.

Primis Financial Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Jan 29, 2026
(Q4-2025)
|
% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presents a fundamentally positive trajectory: margin expansion, strong deposit acquisition (including a meaningful increase in noninterest-bearing deposits), accelerating mortgage and warehouse businesses, and disciplined expense guidance underpin management's 1% ROA target for 2026. However, Q4 included one-time gains and restructure noise that inflate the quarter-over-quarter picture, provisions and special-mention loans warrant monitoring, and Q1 seasonality presents near-term risk. Overall, the positives around recurring margin improvement, deposit franchise strengthening, and scalable mortgage/warehouse growth outweigh the near-term noise and watch-list items.
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive Updates
Strong Quarterly Earnings
Reported Q4 earnings of $29.5 million, or $1.20 per share, implying roughly a 3.0% ROA for the quarter.
Run-Rate Profitability Established
Management reports run-rate earnings of about $8 million, roughly an 80 basis point ROA on ~ $4.0 billion of average assets, forming the baseline for 2026 growth.
Net Interest Income and Margin Expansion
Net interest income rose to approximately $31 million in Q4 vs. $26 million a year ago. Net interest margin expanded to 3.28% in Q4 (up from 2.90% year-ago and 3.18% in prior quarter); management expects further margin expansion (adjusted for completed debt redemption and securities restructuring would be ~11 bps higher).
Material Deposit Growth and Improved Funding Mix
Checking accounts grew over 23% year-over-year (~$116 million). Noninterest-bearing deposits increased to $554 million (16% of total deposits) vs. $439 million (14%) at year-end 2024. Core bank cost of deposits was 159 bps in Q4 (down 14 bps linked quarter); total deposit cost 226 bps (down 20 bps linked quarter).
Earning Asset and Loan Growth
Earning assets grew $325 million for the year. Including Panacea loans sold, gross loans would have increased approximately 17% annualized in Q4; average earning assets rose ~13% annualized in the quarter.
Mortgage Business Momentum
Primis Mortgage closed ~ $1.2 billion of loans in 2025, a ~50% increase over 2024; Q4 mortgage revenue ~$10 million vs. $8.9 million in Q3. Management expects mortgage production and pretax margins to scale meaningfully in 2026 (guidance: 40–60 bps pretax on production as activity scales).
Warehouse Lending Upside
Average mortgage warehouse outstanding was $175 million in 2025; management forecasts warehouse to average ~$500 million in 2026 (seasonal peak > $600M), representing significant incremental profitability (warehouse previously noted as delivering >2% ROA at smaller scale).
Operating Leverage and Expense Normalization
Normalized core noninterest expense is approximately $21 million for Q4 after excluding mortgage/Panacea volatility and nonrecurring items. Management targets quarterly core expense range of $23–24 million in 2026 (including ~$1.5M quarterly lease cost) and believes it can hold or beat the low end.
Digital & Customer Acquisition Strength
Digital deposits totaled $903 million at year-end with >20,000 customers (roughly 15% within core footprint). Management maintained ~90% of digital balances through rate swings and added nearly 6,000 new customers in the year, driving long-term deposit growth and wallet expansion.
Capital & Strategic Actions
Completed sale-leaseback and announced a $27 million subordinated debt redemption (end of month), actions that management says reposition the franchise and support achieving a 1% ROA goal for 2026.
Negative Updates
One-Time Items and Quarter Noise
Q4 results included a notable gain from a sale-leaseback and other restructure-related noise; management cautioned the quarter contained nonrecurring items that affect comparability.
Run-Rate Still Modest vs. Quarter
Despite strong reported Q4, the stated run-rate (≈80 bps ROA) reflects 'virtually no improvement' from the announced restructure on a run-rate basis, indicating the quarter's outperformance was partially driven by one-time items.
Elevated Provisioning and Specific Reserves
Provision expense was $2.4 million in Q4, partly driven by loan growth; about $1.0 million was specific reserves for impaired loans and ~$600k tied to consumer portfolio activity.
Higher Reported Operating Expense in Q4
On a reported basis (including mortgage and Panacea volatility and one-time items), core noninterest expense was $28 million in Q4 vs. $22 million in Q3. Notable accruals included $4.5 million of restricted stock expense and additional one-time items (~$1.8M plus ~$300–400k cleanup) that depressed the quarter's comparability.
Seasonality Risk / Early-Quarter Headwinds
Management expects Q1 to be seasonally slower (particularly mortgage and warehouse), warning the company may be below the 1.0% ROA target in Q1 before improving later in 2026.
Credit Watch Items and Special Mention Loans
Special mention balances rose (examples include an office CRE deal with a modification, an assisted living asset with tenant issues, and another loan in process of recapitalization). Management expects these to remain manageable but they represent watch-list risk.
Digital Deposit Decline vs. Prior Year
Digital deposits finished at $903M, down slightly (less than 10%) from a year ago, reflecting some attrition though retention remained strong (~90% balance retention through the year).
Company Guidance
Management guided to a full-year 2026 target of a 1.0% ROA (they noted run‑rate earnings today of about $8.0M, roughly an 80 bps ROA on ~$4.0B of average assets) driven by margin expansion and disciplined expenses: Q4 NIM was 3.28% (up from 2.90% a year ago) and management expects mid‑3% to ~3.5% margins as they complete the securities restructuring and redeem $27M of subordinated debt (which would've added ~11 bps to Q4 NIM), while ~331M of loans repricing in 2026 at just under 5% and $40M of high‑cost deposits (≈80 bps above wholesale) rolling off should further help yields. They expect mortgage warehouse to average ~ $500M in 2026 (Q1 ~ $400M, peak > $600M), mortgage closed loans were ~$1.2B in 2025 (up 50% YoY) with retail production +84% YoY and management expects 40–50% higher closings next year with pretax contribution of roughly 50–60 bps on production. On funding and expense levers, deposits were up 10% annualized in Q4, noninterest‑bearing deposits ended the year at $554M (16% of total), core bank cost of deposits was 159 bps (total deposits 226 bps), provision was $2.4M in Q4, normalized core noninterest expense was roughly $21M and management is guiding quarterly core expenses of $23–24M in 2026 (inclusive of ~$1.5M quarterly lease expense) while aiming to be at or below the low end.

Primis Financial Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Earnings improved with TTM net income turning positive and leverage appearing moderate, but the recovery looks fragile due to sharply negative TTM revenue growth and a major deterioration in cash generation (TTM operating and free cash flow both meaningfully negative), raising funding/execution risk.
Income Statement
45
Neutral
Profitability has improved meaningfully in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months), with net income turning positive ($8.6M) after losses in 2023–2024, and margins moving back into positive territory (net margin ~3.2%). However, the recovery looks fragile: revenue growth is sharply negative in TTM, and profitability is still well below the stronger 2020–2021 period (when net margins were ~23%–30%).
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Leverage appears moderate for the recent period (TTM debt-to-equity ~0.55) and equity has grown versus 2024, supporting balance-sheet resilience. That said, leverage has been volatile historically (debt-to-equity peaked above 1.0 in 2022), and returns on equity are currently low (TTM ~2.3%), indicating the balance sheet is not being converted into strong shareholder returns yet.
Cash Flow
40
Negative
Cash generation is the key weakness: TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) operating cash flow and free cash flow are both negative (about -$52.5M and -$53.7M), a major reversal from positive cash flow in prior annual periods (2020–2024). While free cash flow growth is shown as strongly positive in TTM, the absolute level remains meaningfully negative, creating higher funding and execution risk if the negative trend persists.
BreakdownTTMDec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue266.01M254.11M237.87M141.64M123.71M131.40M
Gross Profit130.90M96.74M111.42M108.78M110.47M85.81M
EBITDA12.96M-19.98M-2.09M24.77M47.61M26.91M
Net Income8.57M-16.20M-7.83M14.15M31.11M22.98M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets3.95B3.69B3.86B3.57B3.41B3.09B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments242.35M243.22M305.97M314.17M801.50M349.42M
Total Debt221.19M128.56M160.72M432.52M211.49M239.63M
Total Liabilities3.57B3.33B3.46B3.18B3.00B2.70B
Stockholders Equity382.15M351.76M376.16M388.97M411.88M390.55M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow-53.66M18.34M26.89M11.42M24.86M25.11M
Operating Cash Flow-52.47M19.53M28.82M12.43M27.32M26.20M
Investing Cash Flow111.19M108.30M-312.76M-616.86M10.53M-200.81M
Financing Cash Flow-72.11M-140.88M283.63M152.10M296.21M338.87M

Primis Financial Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price13.52
Price Trends
50DMA
12.80
Positive
100DMA
11.65
Positive
200DMA
10.88
Positive
Market Momentum
MACD
0.24
Positive
RSI
61.68
Neutral
STOCH
49.22
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FRST, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 13.52 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 13.51, above the 50-day MA of 12.80, and above the 200-day MA of 10.88, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.24 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 61.68 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 49.22 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for FRST.

Primis Financial Risk Analysis

Primis Financial disclosed 38 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Primis Financial reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

Primis Financial Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
79
Outperform
$308.30M10.1611.48%2.91%8.17%21.95%
76
Outperform
$327.69M8.9411.15%2.84%12.91%21.72%
72
Outperform
$296.10M19.645.69%2.40%-6.25%-38.79%
72
Outperform
$268.18M9.5711.95%3.61%17.97%68.34%
68
Neutral
$364.77M20.238.27%2.13%7.29%33.75%
68
Neutral
$18.00B11.429.92%3.81%9.73%1.22%
58
Neutral
$347.49M5.662.25%3.06%9.90%
* Financial Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
FRST
Primis Financial
14.14
3.59
34.03%
PKBK
Parke Bancorp
28.54
9.09
46.72%
TSBK
Timberland Bancorp
39.10
9.82
33.54%
CHMG
Chemung Financial
61.10
11.68
23.63%
FDBC
Fidelity D & D Bancorp
47.33
3.88
8.93%
ISBA
Isabella Bank
50.28
25.76
105.06%

Primis Financial Corporate Events

Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Primis Financial Delivers Strong Q4 Turnaround and Dividend
Positive
Jan 29, 2026

On January 29, 2026, Primis Financial Corp. reported a sharp turnaround in profitability for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, posting net income available to common shareholders of $30 million, or $1.20 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, versus a net loss of $23 million a year earlier, and full-year 2025 net income of $61 million compared with a net loss in 2024. Management highlighted improved fundamentals across the balance sheet, including 10% asset growth, 14% loan growth, higher noninterest-bearing deposits, stronger capital and tangible book value, and an 18% rise in net interest income with net interest margin expanding to 3.28%. Core community banking performance benefited from lower deposit costs, zero brokered deposits, low reliance on FHLB borrowings, and growing noninterest-bearing balances supported by proprietary technology such as the V1BE platform, which Primis plans to license to other banks. Strategic business lines delivered strong momentum: Primis Mortgage nearly doubled activity with an 84% jump in closed volume and a swing to profitability; mortgage warehouse balances rose almost fourfold year over year with meaningful associated noninterest-bearing deposits; and Panacea Financial expanded loans and deposits while executing loan sales to sustain growth without overburdening the balance sheet. The bank’s digital platform maintained about $1 billion in deposits while significantly lowering funding costs and increasing small-business balances, and the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share payable February 27, 2026 to shareholders of record on February 13, 2026, underscoring confidence in the company’s strengthened earnings profile and capital position.

The most recent analyst rating on (FRST) stock is a Hold with a $14.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Primis Financial stock, see the FRST Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyStock Buyback
Primis Financial Announces New Share Repurchase Authorization
Positive
Dec 18, 2025

On December 18, 2025, Primis Financial Corp.’s board of directors reauthorized a stock repurchase program allowing the company to buy back up to 750,000 shares of its common stock between December 18, 2025 and December 18, 2026. The company, which had previously repurchased 79,549 shares at an average price of $10 under an earlier plan, said purchases may be executed in the open market, through privately negotiated transactions or via Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, with the scale and timing of buybacks dependent on share price performance, market conditions, regulatory constraints and available liquidity; the program is discretionary, may be changed or terminated at any time, and does not commit Primis to repurchase a specific number of shares, underscoring flexible capital management rather than a fixed return-of-capital schedule for shareholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (FRST) stock is a Hold with a $12.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Primis Financial stock, see the FRST Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Primis Financial Completes Sale-Leaseback for $50 Million Gain
Positive
Dec 8, 2025

On December 5, 2025, Primis Bank completed a sale-leaseback transaction involving 18 retail banking branches, generating a pre-tax gain of approximately $50 million. This strategic move is part of Primis Financial‘s broader effort to restructure its balance sheet, improve earnings, and bolster capital levels to support future growth. The transaction is expected to enhance the company’s financial metrics, including an increase in tangible book value and earnings per share. Additionally, Primis plans to restructure its investment and insurance portfolios and refinance its debt, aiming to further strengthen its financial position and operational efficiency.

The most recent analyst rating on (FRST) stock is a Hold with a $12.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Primis Financial stock, see the FRST Stock Forecast page.

Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Jan 30, 2026