First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC opened at $31.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day moving average of $33.41. First Bancorp has a one year low of $26.00 and a one year high of $38.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 20.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 91.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,245,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,078,000 after buying an additional 595,695 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,720,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,071,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,848,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,418,000 after purchasing an additional 112,422 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 512,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,419,000 after purchasing an additional 74,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% 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. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.