Chatham Capital Group Inc. Acquires 3,995 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. owned 0.08% of First Bancorp worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,228,000 after buying an additional 52,812 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $11,720,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 91.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,245,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,078,000 after buying an additional 595,695 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $30,500.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,648.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.92. 391,370 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 138,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.02. First Bancorp has a one year low of $26.00 and a one year high of $38.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.69.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $92.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.12 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 20.58%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

About First Bancorp

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.