Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 348 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FBNC. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

FBNC stock opened at $40.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.91. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.81 million. Analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.71%.

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.