First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.64 and last traded at $62.27, with a volume of 76865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Raymond James Financial raised First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

First Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.90.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $83.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.43 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Bancorp news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total value of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,924. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 10,142 shares of company stock valued at $592,276 over the last 90 days. 3.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 289,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,679,000 after acquiring an additional 27,849 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $990,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,058,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,069,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $800,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.