First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given New $62.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

FBNC opened at $54.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.56. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.50 and a 1-year high of $55.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 1.00.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The business had revenue of $111.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.22 million. Analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.32%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 2,222.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1,412.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth $128,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.