Barclays PLC Boosts Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 82,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $3,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,476,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,566,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $40.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.78.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

First Bancorp 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.