First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Short Interest Down 9.7% in January

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 829,200 shares, a drop of 9.7% from the January 15th total of 918,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 195,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 84,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,439. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.36 and its 200 day simple moving average 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 twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. Analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 807.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.