First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• First Bancorp has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for First Bancorp, with the consensus now set at $53.67, reflecting increased investor confidence.
• First Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $0.93 earnings per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.88.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, August 12th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FBNC. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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 note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.67.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC traded up $0.1150 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.2150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,617. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.50 and a twelve month high of $53.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 0.96.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $111.02 million for 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,862,000 after buying an additional 77,074 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 13.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 884,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,001,000 after purchasing an additional 101,529 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in First Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 836,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,592,000 after acquiring an additional 8,510 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 587,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,884,000 after buying an additional 142,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 443,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,519,000 after acquiring an additional 28,686 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.