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 banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and organizations.

First Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, mortgage services, treasury and cash-management solutions, and online and mobile banking. The bank also provides wealth management and investment-related services through its financial services operations.

Founded in 1983, First Bancorp has grown from a community banking organization serving North Carolina’s Sandhills region into a regional banking company with locations across North Carolina and South Carolina. Its markets include communities in the Sandhills, Triangle, Triad, Charlotte, and coastal areas of North Carolina, as well as parts of South Carolina. Michael G. Mayer serves as president and chief executive officer.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $61.77 to $62.87
• 50-Day Range: $61.11 to $66.34
• 52-Week Range: $45.96 to $66.78
• Volume: 237,017 shs
• Average Volume: 235,860 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.58 billion
• P/E Ratio: 19.36
• Dividend Yield: 1.54%
• Price Target: $68.94
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Bancorp Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Bancorp scored higher than 61% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 513th out of 839 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: 3.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Bancorp has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 2 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Upside Potential

First Bancorp has a consensus price target of $68.94, representing about 10.6% upside from its current price of $62.33.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Bancorp has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 6.36%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Bancorp are expected to grow by 6.36% in the coming year, from $4.72 to $5.02 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 19.36, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.66.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 19.36, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 24.51.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Bancorp has a P/B Ratio of 1.56. 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

5.44% 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 12.67, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Bancorp has recently increased by 2.26%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

First Bancorp pays a meaningful dividend of 1.54%, 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 19.12% next year. This indicates that First Bancorp will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.60

News Sentiment

First Bancorp has a news sentiment score of 0.60. 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 news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 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
• Record date for 10/23 Dividend: 9/30/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 10/23 Dividend: 9/30/2026
• Today: 10/04/2026
• 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: +10.6%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.22
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 19.36
• Forward P/E Ratio: 13.21
• 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: 4.69
• Cash Flow: $4.53 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 13.77
• Book Value: $39.89 per share
• Price / Book: 1.56

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 41,370,000
• Free Float: 40,530,000
• Market Cap: $2.58 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.84