Insider Selling: First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Sells 2,036 Shares of Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.05. The stock had a trading volume of 64,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,724. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.40. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.00 and a fifty-two week high of $45.41.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 20.17%. The business had revenue of $143.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $316,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 165.2% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 21,749 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in First Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $698,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 90,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.