First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.22

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 24.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $3.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.3%.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC traded up $0.61 on Monday, hitting $40.48. The stock had a trading volume of 84,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,087. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.51. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.