NEW ORLEANS — FB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Fidelity Bank, has completed its initial stock repurchase program, buying back nearly 10% of its outstanding shares as the newly public company continues to reshape its balance sheet and strategic focus following its 2024 conversion from mutual to stock form.
Under the program, FB Bancorp repurchased 1,983,750 shares of common stock at an average price of $12.725 per share, inclusive of trading costs and commissions. The repurchases represented approximately 10% of the company’s shares outstanding at the time the program was launched.
Strategic Shift Following Stock Conversion
The buyback follows a series of strategic moves by Fidelity Bank and its parent company aimed at simplifying operations and sharpening focus on core community banking activities. Most notably, Fidelity recently reached an agreement to sell its mortgage division, NOLA Lending Group, to First Federal Bank, a community-owned financial institution headquartered in Lake City, Florida.
That transaction transferred NOLA Lending Group’s assets and operations to First Federal, which plans to continue serving Fidelity mortgage customers from existing locations across Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida while retaining most of the division’s employees. The NOLA Lending Group brand will be maintained following the transition.
At the time of the mortgage-division sale, Fidelity Bank President and CEO Chris Ferris said the move aligned with the bank’s strategic plan for 2026, which calls for a renewed emphasis on “sound execution of banking” to support shareholder value.
Taken together, the mortgage sale and the stock repurchase signal a broader repositioning for Fidelity and FB Bancorp following the bank’s Oct. 2024 conversion to a stock institution. By exiting the capital-intensive mortgage origination business, the bank reduced earnings volatility and freed up capital, which was then partially redeployed through the share repurchase program.
FB Bancorp said it will continue to evaluate additional capital management tools, including the possibility of a second stock repurchase program, as it balances growth opportunities with shareholder returns.
FB Bancorp trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FBLA.
Fidelity Bank, founded more than 115 years ago, reports more than $1.2 billion in assets and operates 18 full-service branches across Southeast Louisiana, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
