First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.34 and last traded at $62.1250, with a volume of 33651 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $60.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

First Bancorp Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.36. 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 (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.43 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.24%. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total value of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,924. This trade represents a 19.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276. 3.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,722,000 after acquiring an additional 11,439 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 48.6% during the third 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. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,892,000 after acquiring an additional 123,283 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 576,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,502,000 after purchasing an additional 163,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 149.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 261,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,813,000 after acquiring an additional 156,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% 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.