First Bancorp - FBNC Stock Forecast, Price & News

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 primarily in North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans; and accounts receivable financing and factoring, inventory financing, and purchase order financing services. In addition, it provides credit and debit cards, letter of credits, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, the company offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 121 branches comprising 114 branch offices located in North Carolina and seven branches in South Carolina. First Bancorp was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $38.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.09. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.90 and a 1-year high of $50.92. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.15.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 29.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 30th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 1st. DA Davidson downgraded First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded First Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dexter V. Perry bought 973 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.78 per share, for a total transaction of $33,840.94. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,208.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.