Hardin Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in First Bancorp by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 196,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Bancorp news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total value of $989,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $30,500.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,569 shares in the company, valued at $347,648.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 7th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of FBNC opened at $41.25 on Friday. First Bancorp has a one year low of $26.00 and a one year high of $45.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.03.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted 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 net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.