First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Reaches New 52-Week High at $45.49

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.49 and last traded at $45.49, with a volume of 439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

First Bancorp Trading Up 5.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $143.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. On average, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $30,500.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,648.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 83,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 11,155 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $762,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.