First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Price Target Raised to $57.00

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) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Stephens from $53.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, July 28th, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 14.11% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.67.

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $49.95 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.37. 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 $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.96. First Bancorp has a one year low of $34.50 and a one year high of $52.12.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 8.96% and a net margin of 17.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in First Bancorp by 372.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,654,000 after acquiring an additional 585,338 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 23.5% during 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. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 32.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 587,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,884,000 after purchasing an additional 142,765 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,046,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,846,000. 68.36% of the stock is 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.