First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.94.

FBNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial cut First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 22,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 16.8% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $60.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.50. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $66.78.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $127.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.07 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 11.31%. On average, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.81%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, First Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and organizations.

First Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, mortgage services, treasury and cash-management solutions, and online and mobile banking. The bank also provides wealth management and investment-related services through its financial services operations.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has grown from a community banking organization serving North Carolina’s Sandhills region into a regional banking company with locations across North Carolina and South Carolina.