First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) saw a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 896,800 shares, a decline of 8.0% from the September 30th total of 974,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 180,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock traded down $0.79 on Thursday, reaching $41.70. The stock had a trading volume of 93,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $28.42 and a 1 year high of $45.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.90.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 20.17%. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. Equities research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

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.