Stephens Boosts First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Price Target to $50.00

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its target price raised by Stephens from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.3 %

First Bancorp stock opened at $40.46 on Monday. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.30 and a 200 day moving average of $42.75.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $128,000. 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.