First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $49.00 to $56.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest 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 report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $47.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.42. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

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 shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 20.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

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