First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• First Bancorp experienced a significant trading volume increase of 101% after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded its price target from $50.00 to $53.00 and maintained an "outperform" rating.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their ratings, with Wall Street Zen changing its stance from "sell" to "hold" and Stephens raising their target price from $48.00 to $50.00.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.93, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has a current dividend yield of 1.46% after declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors hold approximately 68.36% of First Bancorp's stock, indicating strong interest from large investment firms.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $53.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. 395,207 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 101% from the previous session's volume of 196,601 shares.The stock last traded at $49.04 and had previously closed at $49.25.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on FBNC. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.67.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 152,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,706,000 after purchasing an additional 10,978 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $344,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 17,230 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,581,000 after acquiring an additional 45,052 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 9,140 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.0%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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, equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.32%.

About First Bancorp

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.