Red River Bancshares Amends Share Repurchase Program

Red River Bancshares Inc. RRBI announced that it has entered into a private stock repurchase agreement with two of its shareholders for $3 million as of Aug 8, 2024. This move lowered its repurchase program availability by the same amount.

Per the agreement, the company is set to repurchase 60,000 shares for $3 million, signifying a discount to the 10, 20 and 30-day volume weighted average price on Jul 31, 2024.

RRBI has amended its $5 million program, which was approved in December 2023, in light of this agreement. Upon the completion of this transaction, the company will have roughly $1.2 million worth of shares available under the authorization for repurchase.

Blake Chatelain, president and CEO of Red River Bancshares, stated, "We are pleased to complete this repurchase, which shows our continued commitment to increasing shareholder value."

Red River Bancshares has been engaged in returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases. In the first half of 2024, the company repurchased 16,220 shares at an aggregate cost of $7,64,000. Moreover, this March, RRBI entered into a privately negotiated agreement of buyback of 0.2 million shares for a total consideration of $10 million. In 2023, it repurchased 0.1 million shares at an aggregate cost of $5 million, thus completing its previous repurchase program. In the same year, the bank approved a $5 million repurchase plan for 2024 expiring on Dec 31, 2024.

Also, the company has been paying dividends regularly. This July, RRBI announced a dividend of 9 cents per share, payable as of Sep 19, 2024. It increased dividends thrice in the last five years. Further, the company has five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 9.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 8%.

Red River Bancshares had total deposits of $2.7 billion and cash and cash equivalents (comprising cash and due from banks and interest-bearing deposits) of $213.1 million as of Jun 30, 2024. The CET1 capital ratio was 16.99% on the same date. The company has decent liquidity and a strong balance sheet position, which help sustain consistency in its capital distribution plans.

Year to date, shares of RRBI have lost 10.9% compared with the industry's decline of 0.8%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Currently, RRBI carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Other Banks Taking Similar Steps

Last month, FS Bancorp, Inc. FSBW announced a quarterly dividend hike and an additional share repurchase program. The company declared a dividend of 27 cents per share, reflecting a 3.8% increase from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Aug 21, 2024, to its shareholders of record as of Aug 7.

Along with the recent dividend hike, the FSBW's board authorized an additional share buyback program of up to $5 million worth of shares. The repurchase plan will remain active through Jul 31, 2025.

Similarly, following the clearance of the 2024 annual stress test, Truist Financial Corporation's TFC board of directors authorized a share repurchase program worth $5 billion through 2026, expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024.

Earlier, management had said that share repurchases were not a priority as the company was seeking to maintain higher capital levels. However, now that the divestiture of the remaining stake in its insurance subsidiary is complete, TFC is in a position to resume buybacks.

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.