First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on FBNC. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $43.96 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.29.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 22.3% in 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 65,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,722,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in First Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.