First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.9375.

FBNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Brean Capital assumed coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, August 13th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $65.29 on Tuesday. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $45.96 and a 12-month high of $66.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.12%.The company had revenue of $127.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.07 million. Equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $380,347,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in First Bancorp by 7,179.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,029,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987,393 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,055,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,711,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,516,000 after purchasing an additional 429,769 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.