Analysts Set First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Price Target at $61.25

Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FBNC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In related news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,924. The trade was a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276. 1.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 289,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,679,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $990,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,058,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,069,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $55.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.82. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $34.50 and a 12 month high of $62.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.43 million. Equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 34.33%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.