First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.67.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

First Bancorp stock opened at $52.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.50 and a 1-year high of $56.45.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.22 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 8.96%. On average, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 39.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.