Jane Street Group LLC Buys 31,953 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 85.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,953 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $44.69 on Friday. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 35.48%.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.