Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Price

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its price objective upped by Stephens from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

FBNC opened at $40.44 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 0.89. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in First Bancorp by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,262,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 3.1% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 19,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 7.4% during the first quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 144,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,809,000 after acquiring an additional 9,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 3.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 22,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Bancorp

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.