First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ FBNC traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $35.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 164,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,678. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $38.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.64 and its 200 day moving average is $32.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.99.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.63 million. As a group, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 53.1% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 17,233.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 665.5% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $85,000. 66.17% 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.