State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Acquires 7,801 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,801 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in First Bancorp were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FBNC. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 142.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 79,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 46,930 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 220.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 71,977 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

FBNC stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.49. 10,458 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 182,740. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.67. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp 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.