Jane Street Group LLC Purchases 31,953 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 31,953 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.17% of First Bancorp worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:FBNC traded up $1.14 on Friday, hitting $44.69. The stock had a trading volume of 551,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,934. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.38 and its 200 day moving average is $40.72. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.