Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases 274,289 Shares of First Bancorp $FBNC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 176.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 429,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 274,289 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $24,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 2,222.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,542.78. This represents a 51.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.94.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $62.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.98 and a 200-day moving average of $59.28. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $45.04 and a 52 week high of $66.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52 and a beta of 0.80.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. First Bancorp had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $127.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.07 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp 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.