First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given New $62.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have raised First Bancorp's price target from $53.00 to $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.57%.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with an average target price of $56.67.
• First Bancorp reported strong quarterly earnings, with $0.93 earnings per share, surpassing estimates of $0.88 by $0.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $53.00 to $62.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 11.61% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FBNC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of First Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.67.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.55. 133,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,080. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $49.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.72. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.50 and a 52-week high of $55.61.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 2,222.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 1,412.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $128,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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.