First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Declares $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• First Bancorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable October 23 to shareholders of record September 30; the annualized dividend is $0.96, yielding approximately 1.5%.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a payout ratio of 25.1%; analysts expect next year’s earnings to support an estimated payout ratio of 19.5%.
• First Bancorp’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.22 in EPS versus the $1.15 consensus estimate, while its stock fell 0.8% to $64.10 in Tuesday trading.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 23rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th.

First Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 25.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $4.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $64.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 261,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,301. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.50. 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 market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.80. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.96 and a 12 month high of $66.78.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.12%.The business had revenue of $127.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $126.07 million. Equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, First Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

First Bank offers a range of financial products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, and agricultural lending. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury management, wealth management and other financial solutions for business and personal customers.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has expanded its banking operations across North Carolina and neighboring markets in South Carolina and Virginia.

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