BlackRock Inc. Invests $380.35 Million in First Bancorp $FBNC

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,949,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $380,347,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.14% of First Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 15.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 214,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,111,000 after acquiring an additional 29,251 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,892,000 after purchasing an additional 123,283 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 176.4% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 429,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,220,000 after purchasing an additional 274,289 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,089,000 after purchasing an additional 52,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,037,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FBNC. Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, August 13th. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Brean Capital began coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 target price on the stock. One research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.94.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.0%

First Bancorp stock opened at $63.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.17. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $45.96 and a twelve month high of $66.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.12%.The business had revenue of $127.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.07 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp 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.