Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $36.42 Million Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,140 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $36,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on FBNC. Stephens started coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $36.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.32. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $29.53 and a 12 month high of $50.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 0.89.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. Analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.83%.

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.