90,616 Shares in First Bancorp $FBNC Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 90,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,793,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $380,347,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,722,000 after buying an additional 11,439 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,012,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,661,000 after acquiring an additional 169,363 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $45,055,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in First Bancorp by 48.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,516,000 after acquiring an additional 429,769 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $64.34 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.96 and a 1-year high of $66.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.17 and a 200-day moving average of $60.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 0.80.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $127.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.07 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.12%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Brean Capital started coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.94.

First Bancorp Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.