First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a target price of approximately $53.67.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.93 compared to the estimated $0.88, alongside a significant net margin of 17.65%.
• First Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, resulting in a 1.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 39.32%.

Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.6667.

A number of analysts have weighed in on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens raised their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price 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.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $52.85 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $46.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.70. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.50 and a 1 year high of $52.97.

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

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 39.32%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% in the fourth 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. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter worth $17,999,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 32.1% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 587,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,884,000 after buying an additional 142,765 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $4,046,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $3,846,000. 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.

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