First Bancorp (FBNC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. It also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans; and accounts receivable financing and factoring, inventory financing, and purchase order financing services. In addition, the company provides credit and debit cards, letter of credits, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, it offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $41.53 to $43.73
• 50-Day Range: $40.96 to $47.94
• 52-Week Range: $29.53 to $50.34
• Volume: 203,734 shs
• Average Volume: 160,238 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.72 billion
• P/E Ratio: 22.67
• Dividend Yield: 2.11%
• Price Target: $56.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Bancorp Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Bancorp scored higher than 83% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 332nd out of 930 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Bancorp has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 buy rating, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Bancorp has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 6.42%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Bancorp are expected to grow by 6.42% in the coming year, from $3.27 to $3.48 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 22.67, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 23.65.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Bancorp is 22.67, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 24.08.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Bancorp has a P/B Ratio of 1.19. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.01% of the outstanding shares of First Bancorp have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Bancorp has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.2.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Bancorp has recently decreased by 9.72%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

First Bancorp pays a meaningful dividend of 2.07%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

First Bancorp does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Bancorp is 47.83%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Bancorp will have a dividend payout ratio of 25.29% next year. This indicates that First Bancorp will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.01% of the outstanding shares of First Bancorp have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Bancorp has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.2.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Bancorp has recently decreased by 9.72%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.24

News Sentiment

First Bancorp has a news sentiment score of 1.24. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.89 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 5 news articles for First Bancorp this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 1 people have searched for FBNC on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

3 people have added First Bancorp to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Bancorp insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 3.65% of the stock of First Bancorp is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

68.36% of the stock of First Bancorp is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

FBNC Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have FBNC shares performed this year?

First Bancorp's stock was trading at $43.97 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, FBNC shares have decreased by 5.1% and is now trading at $41.71.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here.

How were First Bancorp's earnings last quarter?

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January, 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%.

Who are First Bancorp's major shareholders?

First Bancorp's top institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc. (6.78%), Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (5.55%), Franklin Resources Inc. (5.33%) and Geode Capital Management LLC (2.35%). Insiders that own company stock include Mason Y Garrett, Richard H Moore, Michael Goodwin Mayer, Suzanne S Deferie, Carlie C Mclamb Jr, Elizabeth B Bostian, Mary Clara Capel, Dexter V Perry and J Randolph Potter.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of First Bancorp?

Shares of FBNC stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of First Bancorp own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that First Bancorp investors own include Humana (HUM), American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR), The RMR Group (RMR), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH) and AUO (AUOTY).

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 1/25 Dividend: 12/31/2024
• Dividend Payable: 1/25/2025
• Last Earnings: 1/29/2025
• Today: 2/22/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 4/23/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: State commercial banks
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FBNC
• CUSIP: 31891010
• CIK: 811589
• Web: www.localfirstbank.com
• Phone: (910) 246-2500
• Fax: 910-576-0662
• Employees: 1,445
• Year Founded: 1948

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $56.00
• High Stock Price Target: $56.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $56.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +34.3%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 2 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $1.84
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 22.67
• Forward P/E Ratio: 12.76
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $76.21 million
• Net Margins: 14.19%
• Pretax Margin: 18.27%
• Return on Equity: 8.04%
• Return on Assets: 0.95%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.06
• Current Ratio: 0.81
• Quick Ratio: 0.81

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $537.14 million
• Price / Sales: 3.21
• Cash Flow: $2.88 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 14.48
• Book Value: $34.97 per share
• Price / Book: 1.19

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 41,340,000
• Free Float: 39,833,000
• Market Cap: $1.72 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.04