First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 896,800 shares, a decline of 8.0% from the September 30th total of 974,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 180,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.01. The stock had a trading volume of 13,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,790. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.59 and a 12 month high of $45.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,099.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,789,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,228,000 after buying an additional 52,812 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $4,071,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 8,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 77.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,041,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,613,000 after buying an additional 455,406 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.