Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires Shares of 413,570 First Bancorp $FBNC

Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 413,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,999,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 3.2% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in First Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.7% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 74,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 8.6% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $50.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.74. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a one year low of $34.50 and a one year high of $56.45.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $89.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.47 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.50% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Zacks Research upgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.67.

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.