Chatham Capital Group Inc. Increases Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $206,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $30,500.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,648.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Bancorp Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.92. 391,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.69. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $38.51.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $92.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.12 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 20.58%. Equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.77%.

First Bancorp 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.