UBS Group AG Lowers Holdings in First Bancorp $FBNC

UBS Group AG lessened its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,025 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $9,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in First Bancorp by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 161,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,553,000 after purchasing an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in First Bancorp by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 576,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,502,000 after purchasing an additional 163,026 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 40,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 13,588 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in First Bancorp by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 53,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 15,284 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in First Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,722,000 after purchasing an additional 11,439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $58.00 to $64.00 in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.25.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $57.37 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $62.64.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $122.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.21 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.59% and a return on equity of 10.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.