First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 20.58%.

First Bancorp Stock Up 13.8 %

FBNC traded up $5.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.77. 460,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,856. First Bancorp has a one year low of $26.00 and a one year high of $45.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.48. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other news, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $30,500.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,648.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

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.