Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $8.25 Million Position in First Bancorp $FBNC

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,423 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of First Bancorp worth $8,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $3,846,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in First Bancorp by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 131,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after buying an additional 28,141 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,162,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 53.2% in the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 8,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FBNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.67.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $50.64 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.32 and its 200-day moving average is $48.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancorp has a one year low of $34.50 and a one year high of $56.45.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $89.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.47 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.50% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

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.