First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.6667.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stephens raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $52.31 on Friday. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.50 and a twelve month high of $56.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.01. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The business had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.22 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 39.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the first quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 2,222.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1,412.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $128,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.