First Bancorp to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 (NASDAQ:FBNC)

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 17th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the financial services provider on Saturday, January 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st.

First Bancorp has increased its dividend by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $3.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.6%.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.32.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.