First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancorp stock traded down $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $41.57. 160,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,430. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.03. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $45.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $143.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. Analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,586 shares of company stock valued at $1,859,154 in the last 90 days. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 77.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,041,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,613,000 after purchasing an additional 455,406 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Bancorp by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after buying an additional 136,002 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after acquiring an additional 124,992 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,071,000. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $3,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About First Bancorp

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.