First Bancorp (FBNC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 on April 25th

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

First Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 24.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $40.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company.

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.