Rhumbline Advisers Trims Stake in First Bancorp $FBNC

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its stake in First Bancorp by 4.3%, owning 119,200 shares valued at approximately $4.785 million.
• First Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.23 per share, up from the previous $0.18, with a yield of 1.7%.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about First Bancorp, with several upgrading their price targets and giving the stock a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $56.67.

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,341 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.29% of First Bancorp worth $4,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 52.2% in the fourth 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. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $546,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 4,012.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 55,613 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $55.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.28. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $34.50 and a 12 month high of $56.45.

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

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 39.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.

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