StockNews.com Downgrades First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) to Sell

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $31.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $38.51.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 8.73%. Analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $683,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 400,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,273,000 after acquiring an additional 18,567 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 20,888 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company 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.