The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Short Interest Up 17.9% in February

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,000 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 28,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 22,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.0 %

FNLC stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.04. 1,903 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,439. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $280.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.53. First Bancorp has a one year low of $21.77 and a one year high of $31.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNLC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 16.37%.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 59.50%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FNLC. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 80.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 10,288 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 225,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,940,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 285.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 16,551 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,003 shares of the bank’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $386,000. 40.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Bancorp

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.