Brokerages Set First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) PT at $61.25

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.25.

Several analysts recently commented on FBNC shares. Zacks Research raised First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Piper Sandler cut shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,924. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 10,142 shares of company stock valued at $592,276 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 11,439 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,012,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,661,000 after buying an additional 169,363 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in First Bancorp by 48.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,516,000 after purchasing an additional 429,769 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,892,000 after purchasing an additional 123,283 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in First Bancorp by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 576,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,502,000 after purchasing an additional 163,026 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $55.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.76. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.50 and a 52-week high of $62.64.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.43 million. On average, analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.33%.

About First Bancorp

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.