First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $31.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $38.51.

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

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3,504.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $184,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by 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.