Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 790 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 790 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,862,000 after buying an additional 77,074 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,864,000 after purchasing an additional 418,752 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 9,140 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 797,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,058,000 after purchasing an additional 18,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,654,000 after purchasing an additional 585,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $42.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08 and a beta of 0.85. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.33.

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.