First Bancorp (FBNC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, First Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

First Bank offers a range of financial products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, and agricultural lending. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury management, wealth management and other financial solutions for business and personal customers.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has expanded its banking operations across North Carolina and neighboring markets in South Carolina and Virginia. The company’s branch network and lending activities are focused primarily on serving local communities, small and middle-market businesses, and individuals throughout the region.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $61.73 to $63.59
• 50-Day Range: $62.28 to $66.34
• 52-Week Range: $45.96 to $66.78
• Volume: 922,215 shs
• Average Volume: 175,942 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.62 billion
• P/E Ratio: 19.68
• Dividend Yield: 1.51%
• Price Target: $68.94
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Bancorp Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Bancorp scored higher than 63% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 505th out of 835 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Bancorp has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 2 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for First Bancorp is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Bancorp has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 5.12%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Bancorp are expected to grow by 5.12% in the coming year, from $4.69 to $4.93 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 19.68, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.67.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 19.68, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 25.31.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Bancorp has a P/B Ratio of 1.59. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

5.32% of the float of First Bancorp has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Bancorp has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 13.19, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Bancorp has recently increased by 3.54%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

First Bancorp pays a meaningful dividend of 1.51%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

First Bancorp does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Bancorp is 29.81%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Bancorp will have a dividend payout ratio of 19.47% next year. This indicates that First Bancorp will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.86

News Sentiment

First Bancorp has a news sentiment score of 0.86. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.72 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 10 news articles for First Bancorp this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Bancorp insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $14,837.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

2.04% of the stock of First Bancorp is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

68.36% of the stock of First Bancorp is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 7/24 Dividend: 6/30/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 7/24 Dividend: 6/30/2026
• Last Earnings: 7/22/2026
• Dividend Payable: 7/24/2026
• Today: 9/20/2026
• Record date for 10/23 Dividend: 9/30/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 10/23 Dividend: 9/30/2026
• Dividend Payable: 10/23/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/28/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: Banks
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FBNC
• CIK: 811589
• Web: www.localfirstbank.com
• Phone: (910) 246-2500
• Fax: 910-576-0662
• Employees: 1,374
• Year Founded: 1948

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for First Bancorp: $68.94
• High Price Target: $75.00
• Low Price Target: $65.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +8.8%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.67
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.22
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 19.68
• Forward P/E Ratio: 13.51
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $111.05 million
• Net Margins: 22.12%
• Pretax Margin: 27.43%
• Return on Equity: 11.31%
• Return on Assets: 1.46%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.04
• Current Ratio: 0.85
• Quick Ratio: 0.85

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $549.30 million
• Price / Sales: 4.77
• Cash Flow: $4.53 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 14.00
• Book Value: $39.89 per share
• Price / Book: 1.59

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 41,370,000
• Free Float: 40,530,000
• Market Cap: $2.62 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.80