First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Janney Montgomery Scott

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Finviz reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $45.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 165.2% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 21,749 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $316,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in First Bancorp by 33.5% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.