First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Receives $56.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.6667.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stephens increased their target price on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

First Bancorp stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.74. 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 $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 1.01. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $34.50 and a 12 month high of $56.45.

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

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in First Bancorp by 2,222.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in First Bancorp by 1,412.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in First Bancorp by 33.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $128,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.