First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Stephens

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stephens to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

First Bancorp stock opened at $41.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.44. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. Research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 807.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.