First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $49.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 17.52% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $47.65 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $144.99 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $216,000. 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.