First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $52.87 and traded as high as $61.14. First Bancorp shares last traded at $60.93, with a volume of 158,358 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

First Bancorp Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $55.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.87.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.24%.The company had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.43 million. Analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In related news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,924. This trade represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276 in the last three months. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $393,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 159.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 95,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,190,000 after acquiring an additional 58,339 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,999,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,056,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 4,309.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 7,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.