Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Rises By 6.8%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the August 31st total of 992,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 205,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $40.32 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $45.41. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.71.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.77%.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other First Bancorp news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154. 3.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,720,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in First Bancorp by 17,233.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,228,000 after acquiring an additional 52,812 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 7th.

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.