Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 8,510 Shares of First Bancorp $FBNC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in First Bancorp by 1.0%, owning 836,879 shares worth approximately $33.6 million.
• First Bancorp has recently reported an EPS of $0.93 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 1.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 39.32%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 836,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,510 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 2.02% of First Bancorp worth $33,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FBNC. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 443,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,519,000 after purchasing an additional 28,686 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,654,000 after purchasing an additional 585,338 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 12,202 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised First Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

First Bancorp Price Performance

FBNC traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.19. 138,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a one year low of $34.50 and a one year high of $56.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.28.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.22 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 8.96%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from First Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 39.32%.

First Bancorp Company 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.