State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of First Bancorp worth $919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $546,000. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 79,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after buying an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 4,012.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 55,613 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bancorp Trading Up 2.3%

First Bancorp stock opened at $43.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.75. 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 has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.86. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.38 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 8.52%. Equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.