First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Short Interest Update

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 791,600 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the November 15th total of 739,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 178,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancorp stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.35. 241,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,871. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.32. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $29.53 and a 12 month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $97.00 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.48%.

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.

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