Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in First Bancorp $FBNC

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,439 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of First Bancorp worth $144,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 183.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 2,222.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $58.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.84 and a 200 day moving average of $55.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $62.64.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $122.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.21 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.59% and a return on equity of 10.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings raised First Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

About First Bancorp

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.