Short Interest in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Decreases By 9.7%

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 829,200 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the January 15th total of 918,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 195,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FBNC traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $41.71. The stock had a trading volume of 203,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,298. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.84 and a 200 day moving average of $43.48. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in First Bancorp by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 12,202 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,654,000 after acquiring an additional 585,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 443,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,519,000 after acquiring an additional 28,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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. 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.