First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Price Down 7.7%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) dropped 7.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $31.78 and last traded at $31.84. Approximately 120,092 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 140,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 1.00.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $97.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 19.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,228,000 after purchasing an additional 52,812 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,848,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,418,000 after buying an additional 112,422 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 91.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,245,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,078,000 after buying an additional 595,695 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 585,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,685,000 after buying an additional 73,508 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 556,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,584,000 after buying an additional 14,710 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Bancorp

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. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.