Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Drops By 8.0%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 974,800 shares, a decline of 8.0% from the September 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 195,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 77.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,041,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,613,000 after buying an additional 455,406 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after purchasing an additional 136,002 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,615,000 after purchasing an additional 124,992 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $4,071,000. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $3,568,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FBNC stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $44.41. 180,003 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,565. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.03. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $45.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FBNC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

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.