Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Hold (C)" Rating for First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "Hold (C)" rating for First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC), indicating a cautious outlook for the stock.
• Analysts have varied opinions on First Bancorp, with price targets ranging from $51.00 to $62.00, and a consensus target price of $56.67.
• First Bancorp reported earnings of $0.93 per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FBNC. Stephens upped their price target on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research downgraded First Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.67.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.82. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.50 and a 12-month high of $56.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $109.22 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 17.65%. Analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 12.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 17,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 110.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 15,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 7.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 141,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,225,000 after purchasing an additional 10,078 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 157.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 23.8% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 22,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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