First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by DA Davidson

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was upgraded by stock analysts at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $34.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $36.50. DA Davidson’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.63% from the stock’s previous close. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

FBNC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancorp to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 26th. Raymond James downgraded First Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC opened at $28.66 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.52. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.08. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.25 and a 52-week high of $49.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $101.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.50 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 10.49%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. purchased 1,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.10 per share, for a total transaction of $36,573.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 29,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,268.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 61,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.88, for a total transaction of $1,829,104.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 267,975 shares in the company, valued at $8,007,093. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. purchased 1,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.10 per share, for a total transaction of $36,573.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,268.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 53.1% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 665.5% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.17% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.