First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FBNC traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,716. First Bancorp has a one year low of $27.45 and a one year high of $45.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.03.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 5.4% in 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 period. Novare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.