The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Short Interest Up 13.4% in June

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,900 shares, a growth of 13.4% from the May 31st total of 24,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Kimberly Swan purchased 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,445.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,463.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNLC. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 224,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 5,748 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 89.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 32.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 52,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bright Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $241,000. 40.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FNLC stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,658. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.51 and a 200 day moving average of $24.31. The stock has a market cap of $269.92 million, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $21.77 and a 12-month high of $29.16.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNLC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $18.52 million for the quarter. First Bancorp had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 11.68%.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This is an increase from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.94%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 56.45%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

The First Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment.