First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $66.99 and last traded at $65.6660, with a volume of 7,995 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.19.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.80.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $129.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.01 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 26.81% and a return on equity of 11.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,929,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,123,000. Martin & Co. Inc. TN purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,310,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $380,347,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Its principal subsidiary, First Bank, is a community banking institution that provides financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

First Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, treasury management and other business banking services. Through its banking and related financial services operations, the company also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, insurance products and electronic banking solutions.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has expanded from its origins in North Carolina into a regional banking organization serving communities across North Carolina and South Carolina.