Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Rises By 6.8%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the August 31st total of 992,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 205,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total value of $989,748.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,526,418.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other First Bancorp news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total value of $989,748.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 196,416 shares in the company, valued at $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,974,069.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,586 shares of company stock valued at $1,859,154. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,720,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $103,228,000 after acquiring an additional 52,812 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 13.7% in the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 7th.

First Bancorp Stock Down 3.1 %

FBNC opened at $40.32 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.00 and a 52 week high of $45.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.03.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $143.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.77%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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.