Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 5,760 First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 400,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,273,000 after buying an additional 18,567 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 20,888 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $490,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st.

First Bancorp Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $32.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.23. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.00 and a 52 week high of $38.51. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.00.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 19.06%. The business had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.63 million. On average, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

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.