First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Price Target Raised to $53.00

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $50.00 to $53.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.33.

First Bancorp Stock Up 1.8%

FBNC opened at $50.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.01. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.50 and a twelve month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.22 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 17.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.32%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,434,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 4,851 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 152,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,706,000 after purchasing an additional 10,978 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $344,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 17,230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.