First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Short Interest Update

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the August 31st total of 992,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 205,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 7th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.59. 151,617 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,417. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.03. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $45.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.71. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. Analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Bancorp news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total value of $989,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,586 shares of company stock valued at $1,859,154 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,041,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,613,000 after purchasing an additional 455,406 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $943,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,228,000 after acquiring an additional 52,812 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter worth $4,071,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in First Bancorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.