Short Interest in The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Expands By 15.7%

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,900 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the October 31st total of 31,900 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 16,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 80.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 10,288 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 225,659 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 28.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 8,079 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 14.9% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 71,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 9,245 shares during the period. 40.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ FNLC traded down $0.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.49. The stock had a trading volume of 12,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.58. First Bancorp has a one year low of $21.77 and a one year high of $31.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.00.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.76%.

About First Bancorp

The First Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment.