Stephens Begins Coverage on First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Stephens began coverage on shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 16.25% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

FBNC stock opened at $41.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its 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%. On average, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,862,000 after purchasing an additional 77,074 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,864,000 after buying an additional 418,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,628,000 after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 9,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 797,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,058,000 after acquiring an additional 18,749 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.