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

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 15th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, April 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th.

First Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. First Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 21.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Bancorp to earn $4.10 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 21.5%.

First Bancorp Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $36.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.53. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.90 and a 1-year high of $49.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. purchased 655 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.18 per share, for a total transaction of $26,972.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,648.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 1,379.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $361,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $321,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $310,000. 69.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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First Bancorp (North Carolina) operates as a bank holding company, which engages in banking activities, with the acceptance of deposits and the making of loans. It provides a range of deposit products such as checking, savings, NOW, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including various types of certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts.