Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Grows By 7.1%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 791,600 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the November 15th total of 739,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 178,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of First Bancorp stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.35. The company had a trading volume of 241,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,871. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $216,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.