First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Short Interest Down 8.0% in September

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 974,800 shares, a drop of 8.0% from the September 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 195,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154 over the last ninety days. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 6.2% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $44.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,438. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.00 and a fifty-two week high of $45.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.66 and its 200-day moving average is $36.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. Equities research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 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, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

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.