GAMMA Investing LLC Has $2.29 Million Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 4,012.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 55,613 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.14% of First Bancorp worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Stephens lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.33.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $40.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.39 and a 200-day moving average of $42.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.86. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

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.