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

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 178,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.35. 241,126 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,871. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.32. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 35.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,649,000 after purchasing an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $562,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,275,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in First Bancorp by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $659,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.