Primis Financial Corp.
- Open
- 15.89
- Day high
- 15.99
- Day low
- 15.83
- Prev close
- 16.02
- Volume
- 102K
- Mkt cap
- $394M
- P/E (TTM)
- 7.4
- EPS (TTM)
- $2.16
- P/B
- 0.9
- P/S
- 1.3
- Yield
- 2.52%
- Per share
- $0.40
- ▲Insiders net buying $69K over the last 3 months (11 open-market buys, 0 sales)
- ◆Cluster buying — multiple insiders bought within days
- 🏛Institutions accumulating (13F)
Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) is a Financial Services company listed on NASDAQ. The stock is up 41% over the past year. Over the trailing 3 months, insiders filed 11 open-market buys and 0 sales (SEC Form 4).
Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
FRST earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | $0.38 | $0.23 | -39.6% | $50M | +3.2% |
| Apr 24, 2026 | $0.32 | $0.33 | +3.1% | $44M | -0.2% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | — | $1.20 | — | $103M | — |
| Oct 23, 2025 | $0.32 | $0.28 | -12.5% | $41M | +35.7% |
| Jul 24, 2025 | $0.24 | $0.11 | -54.2% | $35M | +16.2% |
| Apr 22, 2025 | — | $-0.94 | — | $64M | — |
| Jan 28, 2025 | $0.11 | $-0.65 | -690.9% | $37M | +50.6% |
| Dec 11, 2024 | — | $0.14 | — | $63M | — |
| Oct 26, 2023 | $0.18 | $0.32 | +77.8% | $34M | +33.7% |
| Jul 27, 2023 | $0.25 | $0.04 | -84.0% | $32M | +20.3% |
| Apr 27, 2023 | $0.29 | $0.23 | -20.7% | $43M | +23.5% |
| Mar 15, 2023 | — | $0.13 | — | $50M | — |
FRST insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2026 | Weichert Margaret Mdirector | Buy | 110 | $16.00 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | Weichert Margaret Mdirector | Buy | 100 | $16.27 |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Saunders Jason Brockdirector | Buy | 500 | $15.20 |
| Jun 11, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 155 | $15.24 |
| Jun 9, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 250 | $15.03 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 350 | $14.30 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 125 | $14.74 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 450 | $14.50 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 250 | $14.75 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | Gamble Scott Rdirector | Buy | 1,711 | $14.59 |
| Jun 3, 2026 | Sharma Anuragofficer: EVP, Chief Information Officer | Buy | 694 | $14.40 |
| Jun 2, 2026 | Gamble Scott Rdirector | Buy | 1,389 | $14.39 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 290 | $14.39 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 250 | $14.51 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | GARRETT F L IIIdirector | Buy | 354 | $14.49 |
Source: FRST SEC Form 4 filings, latest Aug 24, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full FRST insider & 13F page →Primis Financial Corp. company profile
Overview
Primis Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FRST) is a regional bank holding company founded in 2004 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Originally known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, the company rebranded to Primis Financial Corp. to reflect its evolution beyond traditional community banking. The company operates through its primary subsidiary, Primis Bank, which provides comprehensive financial services to individuals and small-to-medium businesses across Virginia and Maryland. Over the past several years, Primis has transformed from a conventional regional bank into a diversified financial services company through strategic acquisitions and the development of specialized lending platforms targeting niche markets such as healthcare professionals and life insurance premium financing.
Business
Primis Financial operates as a diversified regional bank with multiple business segments that extend beyond traditional banking services. The company's operations can be divided into several key areas: Core Banking Operations represent the foundation of Primis's business, providing traditional deposit and lending services through 24 full-service branches across Virginia and Maryland (reduced from 42 branches through strategic consolidation). This segment offers standard banking products including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and various loan products including commercial real estate, construction loans, and residential mortgages. The core bank maintains approximately $2.1 billion in deposits and focuses on building relationships with local businesses and consumers. Panacea Financial is a specialized digital lending platform that serves healthcare professionals, including doctors, dentists, and veterinarians. This segment has grown significantly, reaching $435 million in total loans with nearly $100 million in low-cost funding. Panacea operates as the exclusive banking partner of the American Dental Association and provides tailored financial solutions for medical practices, including equipment financing and practice acquisition loans. Mortgage Warehouse Lending provides short-term financing to mortgage originators, allowing them to fund residential mortgage loans before selling them to secondary market investors. This business has shown strong growth, with production increasing 30-40% year-over-year and potential to reach $300 million in volume. Life Premium Finance offers financing solutions for high-net-worth individuals to purchase life insurance policies, though the company has recently sold this business to focus on core operations. Digital Banking Platform serves approximately 18,000 customers and focuses on providing online banking services, particularly targeting business accounts with competitive rates and digital-first service delivery. The core banking operations generate the majority of revenue, while the specialized segments contribute approximately 25% of total loans and 29% of total deposits, representing significant growth opportunities for the company.
Revenue model
Primis Financial generates revenue primarily through traditional banking activities, earning the spread between interest paid on deposits and interest earned on loans and investments. The company's net interest income represents its core revenue source, supplemented by fee-based services and specialized lending operations. The primary revenue model centers on net interest margin, where the bank borrows money from depositors at relatively low rates (currently around 2.21% cost of deposits) and lends it out at higher rates through various loan products. The company targets a net interest margin range of 3.25% to 3.50%, with the core community bank achieving margins around 3.25%. This spread-based model is fundamental to banking profitability. Fee-based revenue streams include mortgage origination and servicing fees, cash management services for business customers, wire transfers, merchant services, and other traditional banking fees. The mortgage division generates gain-on-sale income when originated loans are sold to secondary market investors. Specialized lending segments provide higher-margin opportunities. Panacea Financial commands premium pricing for its healthcare-focused lending due to the specialized nature of the service and strong relationships with professional associations. The mortgage warehouse lending business generates attractive returns by providing short-term financing to mortgage originators. Several factors influence the company's profitability margins. Interest rate environment significantly impacts both funding costs and loan yields, with rising rates generally benefiting banks through improved net interest margins, though they also increase deposit competition. Credit quality directly affects profitability through loan loss provisions, with the company maintaining relatively low charge-off rates of 5-10 basis points. Deposit composition matters significantly, as the company focuses on attracting lower-cost commercial and operational deposits rather than rate-sensitive consumer deposits. Operational efficiency impacts margins through expense management, with the company targeting expense reductions through branch consolidation and digital platform investments. Competition from larger regional banks and fintech companies can pressure both deposit costs and loan pricing, requiring the company to differentiate through specialized services and relationship banking.
Competitive moat
Primis Financial's competitive moat is relatively modest, typical of smaller regional banks, but the company has developed some differentiated positions that provide limited protection against competition. The strongest moat elements come from the specialized lending platforms, particularly Panacea Financial's exclusive partnership with the American Dental Association and deep relationships within the healthcare professional community. This niche focus creates switching costs and relationship stickiness that larger banks often cannot replicate due to their broader focus and less specialized service delivery. The company's local market presence in Virginia and Maryland provides some defensive characteristics through established customer relationships and local market knowledge, though this advantage is increasingly challenged by digital banking alternatives and larger regional competitors with superior technology platforms and broader product offerings. Digital banking capabilities represent both an opportunity and a vulnerability. While the company has invested in digital platforms to compete with fintech alternatives, it lacks the scale and technology resources of larger competitors, making it vulnerable to disruption from both traditional banks with superior digital offerings and emerging fintech companies. The primary competitive threats include larger regional banks that can offer more comprehensive services, better technology, and competitive pricing due to their scale advantages. Credit unions often compete aggressively for the same small business and consumer segments with tax advantages that allow more attractive pricing. Fintech companies pose increasing threats, particularly in the digital banking space where Primis is trying to grow, by offering superior user experiences and innovative products. Overall, Primis operates in a moderately competitive environment with limited sustainable competitive advantages. The company's success depends more on execution, relationship management, and niche market positioning rather than structural moats that would protect against determined competitors.
Risks & safety
Primis Financial presents a mixed margin of safety profile with some concerning elements alongside stabilizing factors. • Solvency and Capital Position: The company maintains adequate capital levels with a tangible common equity ratio that improved following the life premium finance business sale. Total assets of $3.7 billion against total liabilities of $3.3 billion provide reasonable cushion, though the debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27 indicates moderate leverage. • Cash and Liquidity: Strong cash position of $64.5 million provides operational flexibility, with additional liquidity available through various funding sources typical of banking operations. • Profitability Concerns: Recent net loss of $14.7 million in Q4 2024 and full-year net loss of $24.7 million raise questions about operational efficiency and credit quality management, though this includes one-time charges and strategic repositioning costs. • Valuation Metrics: Trading at 0.80x book value suggests market skepticism, while negative earnings make traditional P/E ratios less meaningful. The stock's decline from over $12 to $8.34 reflects investor concerns about execution and profitability. • Credit Quality: Nonperforming assets at 25 basis points remain manageable, with expected core charge-offs of 5-10 basis points indicating reasonable credit discipline. • Strategic Transition Risks: The company is undergoing significant strategic repositioning, including potential Panacea deconsolidation and business line sales, which create execution risk but also potential for improved focus and profitability.
Recent development
Over the past several years, Primis Financial has undergone significant strategic transformation aimed at evolving from a traditional community bank into a more diversified financial services company with specialized lending capabilities. The company has pursued an aggressive branch consolidation strategy, reducing its physical footprint from 42 to 24 branches while maintaining 95% customer retention, demonstrating successful migration to digital service delivery models. Key strategic acquisitions and developments include the growth of Panacea Financial from approximately $50 million to $435 million in loans, establishing it as a significant specialized lending platform for healthcare professionals. The company also developed its mortgage warehouse lending business, which has shown strong growth with 30-40% year-over-year production increases and potential to reach $300 million in volume. The company has made several portfolio optimization moves, including the decision to sell its Life Premium Finance business to improve capital efficiency and focus on core operations. Management moved the consumer loan portfolio to held-for-sale status and is preparing for potential deconsolidation of Panacea Financial, which could improve regulatory capital ratios and operational focus. Digital transformation initiatives have been central to the company's strategy, with the digital banking platform growing to approximately 18,000 customers and serving as a key vehicle for attracting lower-cost deposits. The company has also invested in technology infrastructure to support its specialized lending platforms and improve operational efficiency. Recent earnings calls indicate management's focus on achieving operational targets, including reaching a 1% return on assets, maintaining net interest margins in the 3.25% to 3.50% range, and driving loan growth of $125-175 million in the core bank. The company expects to benefit from $17 million in annual improvements by 2025 through various strategic initiatives and operational efficiencies.
FRST company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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