First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.25 and last traded at $46.25, with a volume of 16687 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.10 and its 200 day moving average is $37.22.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. Research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,974,069.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,799,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First Bancorp by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after purchasing an additional 136,002 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,828,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,038,000 after buying an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after purchasing an additional 124,992 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.