Insider Buying: First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Buys 811 Shares of Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. bought 811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.47 per share, for a total transaction of $24,711.17. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 33,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,009,745.33. The trade was a 2.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.37. 57,861 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,964. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.96 and its 200-day moving average is $43.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FBNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in First Bancorp by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.