Brokerages Set First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Target Price at $56.67

Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.6667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FBNC. Wall Street Zen cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 183.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1,412.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC opened at $51.56 on Friday. First Bancorp has a one year low of $34.50 and a one year high of $56.45. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.56 and a 200-day moving average of $48.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.08. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 17.50%.The business had revenue of $89.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.47 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.