First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given "Overweight" Rating at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens has raised its price target for First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from $53.00 to $57.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.70% from the current stock price.
• Other brokerages have varying ratings on First Bancorp, with Piper Sandler initiating coverage at a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price target, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded their target to $53.00.
• First Bancorp reported earnings of $0.93 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving a net margin of 17.65% on revenues of $111.02 million.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $57.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $53.00. Stephens' price objective points to a potential upside of 12.39% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.67.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.94 on Monday, hitting $50.72. 41,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,710. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.08.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The firm had revenue of $111.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.22 million. Research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 372.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,654,000 after acquiring an additional 585,338 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in First Bancorp by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,864,000 after purchasing an additional 418,752 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $4,046,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $3,846,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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.