The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,900 shares, a growth of 15.7% from the October 31st total of 31,900 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FNLC. WASHINGTON TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $37,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $104,000. Means Investment CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,029 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.41% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FNLC traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.49. 12,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,261. The company has a market cap of $317.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.03. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $21.77 and a 52 week high of $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 60.76%.

About First Bancorp

The First Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment.