First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th.

First Bancorp has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 25.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $4.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $64.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 261,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,301. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.80. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.96 and a 1-year high of $66.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.50.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.07 million. On average, equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.94.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, First Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

First Bank offers a range of financial products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, and agricultural lending. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury management, wealth management and other financial solutions for business and personal customers.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has expanded its banking operations across North Carolina and neighboring markets in South Carolina and Virginia.