First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on FBNC. Piper Sandler cut shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

First Bancorp Stock Down 5.6%

FBNC stock opened at $56.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.50 and a twelve month high of $62.64.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 34.33%.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,924. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276 over the last three months. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $393,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 14.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 161,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,553,000 after purchasing an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its position in First Bancorp by 159.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 95,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after buying an additional 58,339 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,999,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 4,309.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 7,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.