First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $42.98 and traded as high as $45.34. First Bancorp shares last traded at $44.56, with a volume of 192,452 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.05. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,649,000 after acquiring an additional 297,144 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,628,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,979,000 after buying an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,539,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 28.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,612,000 after acquiring an additional 93,072 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.