First Bancorp (FBNC) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 30th

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid 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 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

First Bancorp has increased its dividend 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 Down 0.3 %

First Bancorp stock opened at $41.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $45.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.63. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,099.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

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.