First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

FBNC traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.60. The stock had a trading volume of 13,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,716. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.03. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $27.45 and a twelve month high of $45.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.63.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. On average, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,228,000 after purchasing an additional 52,812 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 13.7% during the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $4,071,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in First Bancorp by 82.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.