First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $48.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FBNC. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $40.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 372.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,654,000 after purchasing an additional 585,338 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,864,000 after buying an additional 418,752 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 979.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 247,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,875,000 after buying an additional 224,419 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,612,000 after acquiring an additional 93,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,862,000 after acquiring an additional 77,074 shares in the last quarter. 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 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.