Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in First Bancorp $FBNC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has decreased its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 0.2%, now owning approximately 2.8 million shares worth about $112 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for First Bancorp, with a target price averaging $53.67.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 39.32%.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,795,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,493 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.76% of First Bancorp worth $112,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. one8zero8 LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 14,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $1,335,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 16,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,262,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FBNC shares. Stephens upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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 upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.67.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ FBNC traded up $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.87. The company had a trading volume of 228,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,539. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick 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 $55.12. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $47.81 and its 200-day moving average is $43.09.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $111.02 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.