First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Plans $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 13th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

First Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 30.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $2.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.0%.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC traded up $1.18 on Friday, reaching $42.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,520. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $45.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. Research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 196,416 shares in the company, valued at $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 196,416 shares in the company, valued at $8,526,418.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $30,500.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,648.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 7th.

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.