Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Increases By 7.1%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 791,600 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the November 15th total of 739,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 178,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This represents a 20.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $216,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.35. The company had a trading volume of 241,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,871. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.32.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.00 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.48%.

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.