First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Declares $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 17th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the financial services provider on Saturday, January 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st.

First Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.9% annually over the last three years. First Bancorp has a payout ratio of 28.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $3.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.6%.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.2 %

FBNC traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.35. 241,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,871. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.53 and a 1 year high of $50.34. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.