Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stake in First Bancorp $FBNC

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.39% of First Bancorp worth $8,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FBNC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 13.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 884,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,001,000 after acquiring an additional 101,529 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 587,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,884,000 after purchasing an additional 142,765 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $17,999,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 258,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,383,000 after purchasing an additional 15,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in First Bancorp by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 121,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FBNC. Zacks Research downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Piper Sandler cut shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $60.93 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $34.50 and a 52 week high of $62.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 0.89.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $83.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.43 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 34.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,924. The trade was a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.82% of the company’s stock.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.