Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $762,000 in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 20,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $762,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of First Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,237,000 after buying an additional 19,095 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 16.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 512,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,419,000 after purchasing an additional 74,164 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 8.2% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 480,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,514,000 after buying an additional 36,535 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 400,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,273,000 after buying an additional 18,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 8.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 122,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after buying an additional 9,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of FBNC opened at $31.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.41. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $38.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.00.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.63 million. Equities analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday.

About First Bancorp

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.