Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Grows Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNCFree Report) by 157.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,171 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $562,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,628,000 after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 85.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 31,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $1,275,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FBNC

First Bancorp Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $43.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 1.05. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.17. 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:FBNCGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.48%.

First Bancorp Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

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