First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Sees Large Volume Increase Following 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) 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 were traded 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 analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 0.7% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 74,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 8.6% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 3.1% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 19,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

First Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.55 and a 200 day moving average of $41.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.22 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 17.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.46%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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