First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Receives $67.94 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.9375.

FBNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial lifted 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 note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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 target on the stock.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,542.78. This represents a 51.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,892,000 after acquiring an additional 123,283 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 176.4% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 429,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,220,000 after purchasing an additional 274,289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $1,037,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $518,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 8,167.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 9,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

First Bancorp stock opened at $64.20 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $45.96 and a 12-month high of $66.54. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.56.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $127.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.07 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.12%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First Bancorp

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.