Three Magnolias Financial Advisors LLC Buys 11,757 Shares of First Bancorp $FBNC

Three Magnolias Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $58,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $59.32. 70,798 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,803. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.96 and a fifty-two week high of $66.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.41.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. The company 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%. Equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.94.

About First Bancorp

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.