First Bancorp $FBNC Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,520 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $8,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $393,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 159.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 95,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,190,000 after buying an additional 58,339 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,999,000. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,056,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 4,309.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 7,541 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FBNC shares. Zacks Research downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

First Bancorp Stock Up 1.8%

First Bancorp stock opened at $60.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.97. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.50 and a 1-year high of $62.64. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.24%.The firm had revenue of $83.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.33%.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,924. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 10,142 shares of company stock valued at $592,276 in the last ninety days. 1.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.