First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $48.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

First Bancorp Trading Down 2.3 %

First Bancorp stock opened at $40.33 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $29.53 and a 12 month high of $50.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.17 and its two-hundred 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 (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 47.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $1,275,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $659,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $384,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 3.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,539,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in First Bancorp by 59.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.