CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.10% of First Bancorp worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,864,000 after purchasing an additional 418,752 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 9,140 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 797,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,058,000 after purchasing an additional 18,749 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 507,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,306,000 after purchasing an additional 13,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 486,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,403,000 after purchasing an additional 63,311 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens began coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $40.06 on Monday. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.79.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

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.