First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,888 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $5,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $43.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.44. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FBNC. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp 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.