First Bancorp (FBNC) Cut to “Hold” at ValuEngine

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by stock analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

FBNC has been the topic of several other reports. Brean Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. BidaskClub downgraded First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

Get First Bancorp alerts:

FBNC traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.15. 135,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.73 and a 1 year high of $42.94. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.12.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.17. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 23.54%. The business had revenue of $66.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.31 million. analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider Eric P. Credle sold 6,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $263,151.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,256,036.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard H. Moore bought 3,100 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.16 per share, for a total transaction of $130,696.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,440,326.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,876,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,244,000 after buying an additional 264,581 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its position in First Bancorp by 2.9% during the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 945,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,690,000 after buying an additional 26,365 shares during the period. RMB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 29.8% during the first quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 774,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,622,000 after buying an additional 177,685 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 658,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,241,000 after buying an additional 39,147 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 512,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,093,000 after buying an additional 69,481 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.76% 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 primarily in North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts.

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.